From Shadow to Light
by YugiYamiforever
Summary: From Light to Shadow. From Shadow to Light. Can a Pharaoh and slave find love and happiness when it seems that everyone, even fate, is against them?
1. Love at first sight

Disclaimer for whole story: I don't own Yugi or any of the characters. I'm just borrowing them for my story :-)

I am sorry it took me so long to complete this but I was having a rather hard time with this story. Thank you standing by me and for all of your reviews. I really hope you like my story and this makes up for the long wait.

AN:Thank you so much 'Yugiknowitall' for naming my story. You also, in fact, gave me the idea on how to finally finish my story.

Thank you :)

From Shadow to Light

Chapter One

Love at first sight?

The sun was just beginning to come over the horizon. Its light shining into a large room through an open balcony window. The rays shimming against the golden trim surrounding crimson colored walls and the small specks of gold in the dark carpet that was made from the softest furs that made it feel like you were walking on a cloud.

A lump on the bed groaned when the sunlight hit his closed eyes. He reached out, pulling the covers over his head to block out the annoying rays. The figure lay there for a few more minutes grumbling about having to get up at such an ungodly hour. He sighed as he rolled over and slid out of his warm bed.

A tall, lean man emerged with multicolored hair and narrowed crimson eyes. His hair was black except for the crimson tips, and if that were not strange enough, he had blond streaks running through his hair, oddly resembling lightning bolts.

The man with the unusual appearance was well known throughout all the lands. He was the Pharaoh of Egypt, the Son of Ra.

He was a cruel Pharaoh, who cared little for his people, since he knew they cared little for him. He taxed them till they were almost starving, having to beg or steal for their meager food. Those that couldn't pay, were forced into slavery to work off their debts or thrown into the dungeons for the rest of their miserable lives.

'And why should I care about them,' The male thought angrily as he summoned his slave to get him dressed and ready for the mornings meetings, 'I am only sought when they are in need of something, or to see how much they can get from me. That's all I'm good for to them.'

'Even when I was only a child they wanted nothing to do with me.' That last thought put the Pharaoh in a sad and depressed mood. He had no friends as a child, had no need for one. They only used him time and time again until he eventually hardened his heart, no longer able to stand the pain of rejection, the pain of being used.

Hating the feelings that emerged when he thought of his childhood, he turned them all to anger, a feeling he knew very well how to handle. Unfortunately that just shortened his already infamous short temper. So when his slave moved too slowly, in his opinion, to get him ready he just snapped and started beating his personal slave for no reason other than he was the Son of Ra and could do anything he pleased. No one would dare question him.

"You worthless piece of filth," he yelled as he continued beating the slave that was now on the ground,"when your Pharaoh tell's you to do something, you do it NOW, not when you feel like it!"

"I'm sorry Milord," the slave whimpered curling up tightly, "It will never happen again."

Ignoring the slaves plea, he continued to punish the poor boy until he was finally unconscious. He called for his guards and had him immediately sent to the dungeons to await further punishment when he awakens.

'Oh well,' he thought now calmed down since he was able to release some of his anger, 'Well I guess that means its time for me to get another slave. Hopefully the next one will be more fun.'

He finished getting ready and made his way to the throne room for the morning council meetings. He hated those meetings. He wanted some fun and excitement in his life not sit in boring meeting day after day.

Although he was constantly surrounded by people, he felt completely alone. There was not one person, except Seto, that he was close to. His council was only with him because of his power as Pharaoh. It was power that they craved and tried to use it to their advantage by persuading the Pharaoh to abide by their wishes.

The guards followed him around everywhere but it was only because it was their job to protect him, that's what they got paid for. They could care less about him as a person, once again they were using his power as Pharaoh, not because they actually cared about him.

Their was only one person that Yami thought of as friend, almost brother even, and that was Seto. His sorcerer and most trusted advisor. The two had grown up together, the best of friends. Seto was the only person who was not using Yami for his own personal gain. Seto didn't care about his power or his position, Seto only cared about Yami. And when Yami's parents died, it was only Seto who comforted the young boy.

As he walked down the hall, Yami quickly composed himself, masking his true emotions.

'Lowlife scum,' Yami thought as he watched the servants and slaves scatter to get out of his way, 'If they were not so useful, I'd murder the lot of them.'

Those that were not fast enough, quickly kneeled down, foreheads pressed against the cold, hard stone. No one was allowed to look at the Son of Ra unless, he himself, gave permission and there was very few that were allowed that privilege.

Yami quickly pushed his thought aside as he approached the throne room. Taking a deep breath, Yami opened the door, the room falling silent. Without a word, Yami entered and took his seat beside Seto.

As soon as Yami was seated, Seto turned to him, "I hear you'll be needing another slave."

"Yes, I'll go into the market place and find myself a new one," Pharaoh replied, "I was getting bored with that slave anyway. Maybe the next one will be more entertaining."

Seto shook his head at his friends answer, knowing that's not really what the Pharaoh meant, before turning his attention back to the council.

"Your Highness, we have slaves making more blocks to finish with the repairs on the palace wall, but those good for nothing slaves are lazy and work too slow." one commented.

"And also," another butted in, "The Tomb robber is still on the loose, he slipped past your guards again and disappeared."

Pharaoh growled at this and the council knew that those guards were in serious trouble. His anger toward the Tomb robber was well known, except none of them knew exactly why or how it had started.

Pharaoh had ended the meeting early telling the council that he was in need of a new slave and that he would personally go supervise the work on the blocks the slaves were making.

As he was getting ready to leave Pharaoh turned toward Seto. "You want to come with?" He asked, but already knowing what the answer will be.

"Of course Yami," Seto replied, the only person allowed to call the Pharaoh by his real name, "You know me I'm always ready."

The two of them donned their capes to cover up their royal clothing and made their way through the busy marketplace to search for a new slave.

()()()()()

Meanwhile in another part of the city, while the young Pharaoh woke in a large bed of silk, a young boy sleeping on a pile of rags was awakened by a whip hitting him on his already bleeding back. The young boy immediately woke up and kneels at the Overseers feet trying to hold back the whimpers that threatened to escape from the beating. His body started shivering in anticipation of what punishment he would receive.

'Oh, Ra,' the young boy thought, starting to panic, 'I must've overslept.'

The older male smiled sadistically at the shivering form on the ground. He whipped the boys unclothed back once more before bellowing at the cowering child, "That was not fast enough. When I walk into the room, I expect you to be on your knees within seconds."

The furious man continued to pulverize the small boy, hoping to get him to cry out, but the boy kept quiet and didn't make a sound. He just continued to keep his head down, keeping silent. After a few more strikes, the older male lifted the boy up by his hair and dragged him to his feet. The boy only looked to the ground. He knew the punishment for looking the overseer in the eyes and it was worse than just a few whippings.

"Now get your worthless hide out there and get to work."

The boy nodded fearfully, struggling to stand up. He bowed once more to the Overseer before he limped as fast as he could outside. As soon as he stepped outside, the boy was momentarily blinded by the bright sunlight. As he stopped to rub his eyes, the boy was immediately whipped by the Head Guard.

"Get to work NOW!" The male screamed at the boy, shoving him to the ground.

Quickly pushing himself up, the young boy nodded to the guard. He grabbed his small pail and immediately ran over to join the other slaves in the hot and scalding sand.

Since the slaves were not allowed to use shovels, they had to use their hands to scoop up the sand. Filling the molds and packing it down until it formed into solid blocks. Then the slaves had to carry the extremely heavy molds to stack along the carts waiting to take them to the palace. All the slaves were either making the bricks to work on Pharaoh's palace or they were at the palace patching up the broken wall.

It was very hard work and many slaves died. They had to survive the burning sun with little to no water, they were practically starved and very weak. So it didn't take them long to perish under these horrendous conditions.

The Pharaoh couldn't care less about how many slaves it took, he never seemed to have trouble finding replacements for them. On a good day, according to his master, they would lose only four or five a shift. To the slaves, just one was too many. They feared everyday that they would fall, trip or give their master any reason at all to punish them. The overseers enjoyed coming up with new and creative ways of punishing them, each trying to outdo the other in cruelness.

'What did I do to deserve this?' the young boy thought as he struggled to carry the brick to the cart, 'was I such a terrible child that my own mother didn't want me anymore?'

Tears came to his eyes as he thought about his mother. He didn't have many memories of her and the ones he did remember were all very faint. He did however, remember the day she gave him to his first master. Many of the other slaves thought he was born into slavery, instead, his own mother sold him. Just so she could have money to get more alcohol. That's all she cared about, not her two year old child who was only looking for just the slightest bit of affection.

()()()()()

As the sun rose higher into the sky and the day started getting hotter, the boy stumbled a few times before finally falling to the ground. He put his arms out to brace himself for the hard impact. He realized his mistake too late, however, when his bucket hit the ground causing the not yet hardened brick to crack and break apart.

'Oh, No.' the boy frantically grabbed the pail and quickly tried to re-pack the sand back into the mold. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough.

The nearby Overseer had seen him fall and ran over to investigate. He pulled his whip from his belt and snapped it on the ground right in front of the boys face. Grinning sadistically as the boy winced in fear.

"Resting on the job?" asked the guard maliciously, "I could have you punished for that."

The tall males grin widened when he saw the boy shaking, cowering before him. He grabbed the boy roughly by his arm and pulled him to his feet. Deciding on the proper punishment, the guard tightened his grip on the frail arm and dragged the younger to his tent.

'Please, no.' although the child wanted to pull his arm back and get away, he knew he couldn't. So he did the only thing that he could. The boy just shut his eyes and willed his mind away to a safer place.

"Now get back to work!" Yelled the guard as he threw the boy out of his tent, bringing him back to the present. "You know what happens when you can no longer work?"

The young boy nodded his head frantically. He already knew the answer to that question and was in no hurry to experience it himself. So, as quickly as his injured body would allow, he got off the ground and limped painfully to where he had left his bucket.

The other slaves looked at him sympathetically but knew better than to interfere or help in anyway. Their Master and the overseers were quick to separate people who became too close for fear of an uprising, but there were some that ignored that rule but were very careful not to get caught.

Even though, the boy himself even knew of a few who chose to ignore the rules, he wasn't about to join them. And even if, among all the slaves, there were three of them that he could almost call 'brother', he was still too scared to get too close to anyone. Getting close to others, meant getting hurt and he knew better than that.

()()()()()

Pharaoh and Seto had been riding the entire morning, searching every single market place for a new slave. But so far, they had seen the same thing in every village. Slaves that, from a distance, all looked exactly the same. Yami didn't want just another slave, he wanted something more. He wanted one person who wasn't afraid of him. One person who he could talk openly to.

'Besides Seto of course.' Yami's mind was quick to supply. Glancing over to his long time friend, Yami was well aware that Seto knew the real reason behind his search and he was grateful that his friend did not chose to bring it up.

"Yami, don't give up," Seto said encouragingly, "I'm sure you'll find them someday."

Seto was the only one to see the other side of the Pharaoh. The side that just wanted to have fun, to laugh. Someone who doesn't care about his title, just him. A person to love him and who he could love unconditionally. His friend had a big heart, but after getting hurt too many times, he put up a cold and uncaring exterior. A mask, to hide his true self.

Yami sighed disheartened, he was just about to reply to his friend when he realized they were passing the sight the bricks for the castle were being made. Raising his hand to stop the procession, Yami swiftly dismounted from his horse.

As Yami strode down the dusty streets, he glanced at the slaves as he passed. He saw them struggling with the heavy bricks in the hot mid-day sun, some were limping badly, while others, were barely able to stand.

For the briefest of moments, Yami felt a sliver of sympathy for the filthy slaves, but quickly squashed that thought down. They were only useful as slaves, and besides that, they knew of nothing else. They had no other skills and he didn't have the time to think of jobs for them to do.

After only a few minutes of walking, Yami approached who he thought was owner of the slaves. The male was quite tall, with long straggly hair. He was currently beating some boy, even though the youth was clearly unconscious. After a few more kicks, he summoned his guards to drag the slave to the dungeons.

The tall male continued to yell out obscenities even after the youth was out of sight.

Yami was suddenly filled with repulsion by this filthy males actions, although he was not sure why. He himself, had done the exact same thing only this morning.

The other male, hearing Yami's approach, quickly turned around. And before the started male could attack, Yami immediately had the male pinned to the ground.

"Who are you and what the hell do you want?" the slave owner yelled as he struggled against the stronger male.

Getting off the smaller male, Yami pulled back his hood and smirked as the owner paled and hurriedly got to his knees.

He bowed his head and said immediately,"A thousand apologies Your Highness. I did not know it was you."

"I could easily have your head for that," Pharaoh stated as a matter of fact. His voice was so cold, the owner started shaking in fear, "This time I will let you off with a warning, but remember the next time I might not be so forgiving."

"Yes Your Highness," Omoto answered fearfully as he shakily got to his feet, "I can assure you it will never happen again."

"Now," Pharaoh said getting straight to the point, "I am in need of a new slave."

"I'm afraid that I don't have any slaves worthy of you, Your Highness, these slave are worthless." Omoto admitted.

"Of course there is no slave worthy of me." Pharaoh snapped back glaring at the revolting man before him, "But that is for me to decide. Not you."

"Of course, Your Highness." Omoto groveled as he led the Pharaoh to where the slaves were working. Glancing around himself, Omoto couldn't imagine one of his slaves being personally picked by the Pharaoh himself. But then he thought of his smallest slave. The youth had a striking resemblance to the Mighty Pharaoh, enough so that the Pharaoh might actually pick the boy and Omoto did not want to lose his favorite slave.

Omoto was about to steer his Lord away from where the younger was working, but his Pharaoh had other ideas.

"I am looking over here." commanded Yami. His voice alone leaving no room for argument.

"Yes, Your Highness," Omoto cowered before his angry Lord, "What ever you say."

Yami dismissed the other male as he studied the slaves as he passed.

'None of these will do.'

Yami was just about to admit defeat and return to his Palace, when he spotted a slave like no other. The child was a lot smaller than the other slaves, by at least a foot, if not more. But that was not the reason the Pharaoh stopped, in fact the reason behind his sudden halt was the boys appearance. He had never, in his life, seen or even heard of another that resembled him so closely. Their hairstyles were almost exactly the same. The only difference was the child's blond bangs framed his face more and gave him a more angelic, younger appearance.

Yami studied the boy as he worked in the hot blazing sun, struggling to carry his heavy load to the awaiting cart. The boy surprised him by actually making it to his destination, when the Pharaoh thought for sure the child would have collapsed in this oppressive heat.

After watching his newest slave head back to the sand pits, Yami glared over at the boy's former owner.

"That slave," Yami ordered pointing at the youth he'd been watching, "Bring him here."

Omoto cursed under his breath when he saw who the Pharaoh was referring to, but he knew better than to argue with his Lord.

'He does not want to part with this slave.' Yami thought, crossing his arms authoritatively. Patience running extremely thin, Yami glared at the Slave owner when it looked like he was about to protest. Daring the other to question him, NO ONE questioned Yami. His word was law.

Omoto gulped as he saw the look of murder in his Lord's eyes. No slave was worth the punishment he would receive for disobeying his Pharaoh. So, fearing for his own miserable life, he immediately called to the nearest guard.

"Pharaoh wants the little runt." Omoto pointed to the youth in question, who was currently staggering back over toward the sand pits.

As the Guard walked away to carry out his duty, Omoto turned to his Pharaoh intent on convincing his Lord to pick another slave.

"Milord, you don't want this worthless slave, I have others who are more suited to one of your position, My Liege." Omoto groveled before his Lord.

"You dare to question me?" Yami narrowed his eyes threateningly.

"No Milord," stammered Omoto, trembling on the ground in fear for his life, "Never Milord."

"I did not think so." Yami declared watching the guard fetch his newest plaything.

The Guard headed to where his boss had indicated. He stopped right in front of the small youth and, without making a single sound, brought his whip down harshly upon the boys unprotected back. He watched in satisfaction as the boy stumbled before collapsing to the ground.

'What did I do?' was the thought running continuously through the boys mind as the Overseer grabbed him by his neck and lifted him to his feet. Then not even giving him a chance to recover, the guard practically dragged the boy behind him as he stormed back to his Boss.

The small boy stumbled as he tried to keep up with the guards larger strides, but it was impossible for his smaller legs to move that fast, leaving the guard no choice but to drag the youth behind him.

After walking for ,what felt like miles to the younger, the Guard suddenly stopped dropping the boy in a heap on the hot sand. The smaller boy heard the guard mumble something, but he was unable to understand what was said. No sooner had the boy landed, he was violently kicked in his side causing him to curl into a ball.

"Here's the runt," the Guard sneered glaring at the trembling form, "Don't understand why you want him though."

"That is not for you to understand." Yami informed the guard.

"I apologize, Milord." The guard bowed to the Pharaoh before returning to his assigned post.

"Well, here is the slave you requested." Omoto tried once more to change his Lords mind, "Are you sure I cannot show you the higher quality slaves, Milord. One more worthy of someone of your stature."

Yami glared at the sniveling male furious that his order was being questioned.

Fearful for his own life, Omoto quickly turned his attention on the small slave. He kicked the youth harshly in his already abused side, smiling in satisfaction as the boy wrapped his arms more securely around his injured mid section.

"Kneel before your new Master, you pathetic little runt."

'New Master?' was the thought running through the young boys mind as he struggled to his knees as quickly as his sore body would allow him to. Finally getting his legs to work properly, he knelt in front of his Master and obediently kept his head down, eyes cast to the ground.

Pharaoh circled the youth cowering before him as he waited for the younger to start sprouting out apologizes for angering his Master. He was quite annoyed however, when he didn't receive the standard groveling he always got from his slaves.

"See this boy is not worthy of you My Liege," Omoto tried one more pathetic attempt to keep his plaything, "Let me show you my best slaves."

'The Pharaoh is my new Master?'

The small boy was terrified. He had heard many frightening stories about the young Pharaoh, and each new story had scared him even more. But there was nothing he could do about it, he was just a slave. He had no rights, no real future. It seemed his lot in life was to have the most horribly cruel Masters, each one more worse than the last.

"I am taking the boy." ordered Yami as he nodded to Seto who was still standing by the horses.

'No, please,' the young boy wanted to cry out, 'anyone but the Pharaoh.'

"Milord." Seto bowed to his friend once he reached his Pharaoh's side.

"Pay for the runt." commanded Yami glaring once more at the trembling figure still cowering in the sand. Not bothering to wait while Seto paid for his new slave, Yami just grabbed the boy by his wrist and dragged him over to where their horses were waiting. Grabbing both the boy's wrists in one hand, Yami used his free hand to dig in his bag for a piece of rope. Finally finding the elusive rope, Yami gathered the boy's hands and tightly wrapped them together before tying him securely to his horse.

Seto could tell from his friends demeanor that he was not too happy with his new slave. The boy just sat there shaking, not even trying to apologize.

"How much?" asked Seto as he watched his friend dragged that worthless slave behind him, the younger struggling to keep up.

"20,000 gold coins." was the asking price. Omoto was not about to give up his favorite slave without getting a substantial amount in return.

"You must think you're dealing with an amateur," Seto replied towering over the smaller male, "No pathetic slave is worth that much gold."

"But he is special, worth more than just a regular slave. He had unique qualities that make him..." Omoto blurted out before he realized what he was saying. He quickly tried to cover up his mistake, hoping the sorcerer had not noticed the slip up, "I mean he..."

"Enough!" Commanded Seto, narrowing his icy blue eyes angrily, "First you say he had no worth, now you claim he is special."

"That boy is a pleasure slave," Omoto unwillingly confessed, "I need him, Sire, he brings in the most money. I will starve if you take him."

"This boy brings in 20,000 gold coins a night?" Seto narrowed his eyes in disbelief, "I seriously doubt that."

"But it's true, Sire." lied Omoto, willing to do anything to keep his pet.

"I will pay you 2,000 gold coins," Seto held up his hand when the Slave owner began to argue, "That is being more than generous, don't you agree."

"Yes, Sire." Omoto replied defeated.

"Glad you see things my way." Seto stated as he counted out the correct amount of gold.

()()()()()

Yami had just gotten on his horse when he heard how much the boy would cost. He too was surprised at the astronomical amount the Slave Trader claimed the boy was worth. No slave was worth that kind of money.

Yami waited for Seto to finish up the transaction, he was eager to get back to his Palace. He had plans for his newest slave.

"Can you believe that man?" Seto ranted as he approached his friend, "He must think we're absolutely crazy."

"He thought he could get more, after all I am the Pharaoh." was Yami's reply as the duo started the trek home.

"I know what your wishing for with this new slave." Seto stated quietly, breaking the silence of the ride.

"I don't know what you mean," Yami replied nonchalantly, a glare from his friend told Yami that he was not fooled. Yami sighed before asking sadly, "Do you think I am meant to be alone?"

"Of course not Yami," Seto replied firmly not doubting his answer for one moment, "You'll find the right one. You just have to be patient."

Yami laughed sadly at that, "And unfortunately patients is not one of my strong suits."

"I know Yami," answered Seto patting his friend on the back, "Just hold on. You might find them sooner than you think."

During their conversation, neither male remembered about the small boy. Didn't notice that the boy was struggling to keep up with the steady pace they set, never noticed as the boy collapsed due to heat exhaustion, and neither noticed that they were dragging the now unconscious boy through the rough terrain behind them.

It was only when they finally reached the palace walls did they remember the small slave they had just purchased. As the Pharaoh dismounted his horse, he glanced behind him seeing his newest slave lying unconscious on the ground.

The small boy had severe burns on his arms and down the length of his body from being dragged through the hot sand that covered the desert floor. He had blood running down his face from a gash that was above his left eye. His skin on his wrists was practically torn off, the rough rope digging into the boys skin.

As Yami looked over the battered and bruised body, he felt an unknown emotion rush through him. He actually felt sympathy for the young boy, but why he felt this, he could not explain.

'Could I finally have found the one?' Yami thought as he watched his Elite Guards cut the boy free from his horse and drag him into the Castle, 'No, this is just another trick to get me to lower my guard. I will not fall for that again.'

"Now what Yami?" Seto asked as he followed his Pharaoh.

Yami sighed. He really had no plan on what was going to occur after he found his new slave. He never really thought that far ahead. Yami was saved from answering however when the group had finally reached the Pharaoh's Chambers.

"Place him there." Yami pointed to a bed of rags settled in the far corner of his spacious room.

"Yes, Sire." the Guard replied as he walked over to where his Lord had indicated and unceremoniously dropped the boy upon the bed of rags.

Both Yami and Seto were quite surprised that the boy didn't make a sound when he landed roughly on the hard stone, the worn rags barely cushioning the fall.

Yami observed the young boy as he stirred in his unconscious state. He almost gasped when the younger finally opened his eyes. Never before had Yami seen such a color. Large amethyst eyes shimmering with fright as the boy looked around at his new surroundings.

'Where am I?' Yugi thought as he slowly returned to consciousness.

Yugi fearfully opened his eyes as he nervously surveying his surroundings. Once he realized that he was not dreaming, that the All Mighty Pharaoh was indeed his new Master, Yugi scrambled to his knees. His entire body started shivering in fear of what his punishment would be.

As Yami watched the small boy trembling before him, he once again felt a strong need to protect the boy, even if it was from himself. Shaking off the foreign feeling, Yami glared at the boy, as if he was willing the boy to look up at him. Anything to give the Pharaoh a reason to use anger as a mask to cover up this unwelcome feeling surging through his body.

Yugi stayed in that position tensing as he waited for the pain to start. When it didn't come, he looked up fearfully making sure to not look at the Pharaoh's face and noticed he was standing right in front of him staring at him.

"On your feet runt," Pharaoh ordered harshly, "I am assigning you to your duties."

The young boy slowly rose to his feet keeping his eyes downcast as was required of him. He slowly followed the Pharaoh as he left his Chambers, making sure to memorize everything that was told to him. To forget one's duties, equaled pain. Pain so intense you almost wished it would kill you, at least then, you'd be free.

'Ra must really hate me,' Yugi thought depressed as he mindlessly followed his new Master, 'what did I do that was so horrible?'

Yami glanced at his new slave often as he led the boy throughout the Palace, showing the child his new duties. He was getting extremely frustrated with the boy, when the only indication the boy made to acknowledge he was even listing to Yami, was the occasional nodding of his head.

Wanting more of an answer than just a nod, Yami stopped abruptly, nearly causing the young slave to crash into him. He turned around quickly, glaring at his new slave.

"Do you understand your new duties?" asked the Pharaoh directly.

Yugi was quite surprised when his new Master stopped so suddenly. He had to take an immediate step back to avoid running into his Lord. It was then that his instincts kicked in and he quickly got down to his knees, forehead almost touching the ground as he nodded profusely.

Yami, not satisfied with that answer, punched the young slave square in the jaw knocking him flat on his back.

"I asked you a direct question!" bellowed Yami as he kicked the boy harshly in his chest, knocking the air from the younger, "I expect a direct answer!"

Since he was not expecting the hit, Yugi fell to the ground surprised. The surprise didn't last long, however, when a sudden kick to his chest expelled the air from his lungs. Leaving the boy gasping as he tried to curl up to protect his mid section.

'What did I do?' Yugi thought fearfully as he tried to make himself as small as possible, 'Slave's are not allowed to speak, that's what Master always said.'

"When your Pharaoh asks you something you ANSWER!"

Yami could feel his anger rising at the young boys continued silence. Wanting some sort of reaction, Yami kicked the boy directly in his side. The resounding crack was easily heard but the boy still did not cry out, in fact, he had yet to make even the slightest of sounds. Frustrated beyond belief, Yami took his anger out on the small slave. Kicking the younger long after he had fallen unconscious.

He was just about to have his Guards drag the boy away, when a blond slave came rushing down the corridor. After glancing worriedly at the bleeding figure, the blond immediately got to his knees waiting to be acknowledged.

After a few more hard kicks, the Pharaoh finally stopped hitting the unconscious youth. He turned his attention to the blond slave, giving him permission to speak.

"A thousand apologies for the intrusion, Your Highness" the blond slave bowed respectfully, "This boy will not answer you."

"Explain." commanded Yami not in the mood for uncooperative slaves.

"As slaves, we were not allowed to speak," the blond slave clarified, glancing nervously at the smaller slave, "A slave must be silent at all times. To speak was to be punished."

"Just for speaking?" Yami demanded, careful to mask his surprise. He had never heard of a Master being that strict as to forbid talking.

"Yes, My Pharaoh," confirmed the blond, "The beatings were long and unbearable. They usually didn't end until the person was barely alive, then they were dragged to the dungeons. The poor soul stayed in those cells until they either died from their wounds, or from the continuous beatings they received. So, Milord, no matter what you do, he will not speak."

"Enough!" Yami raised his hand, not wanting to hear anymore of this slaves sob story, "Just get the runt and follow me."

"Yes, Milord," The blond wasted no time as he rushed toward the small unmoving body. He gently gathered the unconscious form into his arms and cradled the younger to his chest.

"Oh, Yugi," whispered the blond as he followed the Pharaoh to his Personal Chambers, "I thought I'd never see you again."

The blond felt tears building in his eyes as he thought about all the young boy in his arms had gone through, in his short miserable life. Although he really didn't know a lot about the boy's past, the Masters they had shared, told the blond all he needed to know about the small boy.

The blond immediately pushed those thoughts aside as they reached the Pharaoh's Personal Chambers.

"Put him down here." Yami ordered as he indicated the small pile of rags bunched up in the far corner of the room.

"Yes, Sire." the blond replied. He walked over to where his Lord had specified, gently laying the injured boy down. He sighed sadly as he brushed blond bangs from the younger boy's face.

"How do you know him Joey?" Seto asked suddenly causing the blond to jump slightly. In all the commotion, he had forgotten his Master was beside him. They had just returned from the Dining Hall when Joey suddenly stopped. He was in complete shock when he saw the small boy being beaten by the Pharaoh. He had run over immediately to help the younger.

"I had met him a few years ago," Joey looked down at the boy and sighed sadly as he fixed the thin worn out blankets over his friends still form, "I had just been bought by a new Master and because I was uncooperative, I was immediately thrown into the dungeons. Anyway, when I was finally able to look around, I saw Yugi. He was laying unconscious on the hard cement floor. His wrists were raw and bloody, his whole body burned from being dragged through the hot desert."

"I didn't think he'd survive the night," Joey had to pause as his emotions became overwhelming. Taking a deep breath, Joey continued. "I found out later that Yugi was being punished, that's why he was in the dungeons."

"A Master will discipline a slave anyway he sees fit." Seto stated firmly, "I am sure the punishment fit the crime."

Joey shook his head not taking his eyes off the little slave, "All he said was 'yes Master' when asked a question."

Yami and Seto both were confused by this statement.

"And?" Yami asked wanting the blond to get to the point.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Joey said angrily, pounding his fist into the ground, frustrated at his inability to help his small friend, "it's not what he said, it's the fact that he had spoken."

"Watch your tone, slave!" Yami said threateningly.

"A thousand apologies, Milord," Joey replied quickly, realizing his mistake he bowed low to the ground, seeking forgiveness for his outburst.

"Is that why he doesn't make any noise at all?" Seto trying quickly to defuse the situation before his slave did something that really angered Yami.

Joey nodded sadly as he glanced at the figure beside him, "Yugi has been a slave his entire life, and as Masters went, Yugi continued to get the worst of the worst. Each more horrible than the last. If you spoke or made a single sound, you were severely punished. At a young age, it was just something you learned very quickly. So when you asked him to speak, he was extremely confused. He didn't know what to do, or how to respond without getting into more trouble."

"Yugi?" Seto asked curiously, "is that his name?"

"Yeah it is," Joey replied smiling at the younger boy, "at least that's what someone once told me, but no one's ever heard him speak before. I had tried to become his friend, but he's so timid and fearful, he refuses to speak or allow anyone to get close to him."

"I thought you were his friend?" Seto asked, now more curious about his own slave as well. Joey never liked to talk about his former life, which Seto completely understood why. But now, he was getting a small glimpse into the world his young slave once lived in and he would be dead in his grave before Joey ever had to live that life again.

"I am his friend," Joey replied, "he's just scared. Afraid that everyone he meets is going to beat him and he doesn't always understand why. Not that our former masters ever needed a reason before."

Seto couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'Punish a slave for no reason? I may not be the kindest master but I only punish my slaves if they give me a reason to and the severity of the punishment depends on the crime itself.' Seto thought to himself, 'but to not even allow your slaves to speak even if spoken to, that's a little strict.'

'No wonder he refused to answer me,' Yami thought watching the blond slave care for his newest one, 'Who cares, so what if he's had some cruel masters. He's still just a good for nothing, pathetic slave anyway and probably deserved everything that he got.'

Yami and Seto came out of their thoughts as the young boy started stirring and slowly waking up and Joey's attention was immediately brought back to Yugi as he watched the young boy finally open his eyes.

Yugi opened his amethyst eyes and looked around the room, it didn't take him long, however, to realize exactly where he was. With the amount of gold scattered about and exquisite tapestries adorning the walls, it could only be the Pharaoh's Personal Chambers. Prepared for the worst, Yugi was quite surprised to see his friend staring back at him instead of an angry Pharaoh.

'Joey?' Yugi thought as he slowly sat up and titled his head in confusion, 'What's he doing here? I thought he was sold to Master's brother.'

"Long time no see, huh Yugi?" Joey asked smiling gently as he saw the confusion in his young friends eyes.

Yugi nodded his head in agreement although Joey still had not answered his question.

"This is my new Master," Joey replied indicating the tall male standing beside the blonde, "He bought me from Omoto's brother. I have been staying here ever since. You're allowed to speak here Yugi, when spoken to first of course."

Yugi nodded to show he understood as he glanced once more around the room. Once his scan had revealed the Pharaoh, the young boy scrambled to his knees, bowing respectfully before his Lord and Master.

"I have to return to my meetings," Yami stated as he watched the boy tremble before him. He pointed at the blond slave as he continued, "You, clean him up and dress his wounds. Unless your Master requires your assistance with something else."

Seto had been watching the interaction between the two boys and he knew that his young slave would in fact like to spend some more time with his friend. And although he didn't have to, Seto decided to allow his slave this small request.

"You can stay," he replied raising his hand before Joey got too excited, "As long as you are back in my chambers by the noon meal."

"Yes, Master." Joey immediately agreed, his eyes showing the gratitude he could never fully express with just mere words, "Thank you Master."

"Well now that that's taken care of," Yami replied authoritatively, "I must return to my meetings."

With that said, Yami strode out of the room, Seto following quickly behind him.

Once the older males had left the room, Joey immediately turned his attention back to the shivering boy.

"You'll like it here Yugi." Joey replied softly as he gathered the smaller boy into his arms, comforting the frightened child. Joey just sat on the hard floor holding Yugi until the younger finally stopped shaking. Once the other had calmed down, Joey picked Yugi up and carried him to the Bathing Chambers.

"Its not so bad here," Joey continued to explain as he gently set Yugi down and set about removing the younger boys clothes, "As long as you obey the rules, they won't hurt you. They're not as strict as our former master was."

'Won't hurt you?' Yugi thought unbelieving letting Joey do as he pleased, 'They may not hurt you at first, but it never lasts for very long.'

Although Yugi didn't move a muscle since Joey had set him down, his eyes followed the blonds every move. He watched as Joey walked to the far end of the Bathing Chambers to where many buckets had been hung over a row of small flames. He kept his eyes glued to the blond as he proceeded to fill up the large tub with the heated water.

'The water is heated?'

Now Yugi was beyond confused. Slave did not deserve hot water, they considered themselves lucky when they were allowed to bathe in the chilled waters of the rivers. No, warm water was a luxury meant only for royalty and overseers, not for slaves such as himself. Yugi became even more confused when Joey came over to him and started leading him to the warm inviting bath.

Joey was concerned when he turned around and saw Yugi shaking his head frantically while trying to pull his arm free from his grasp.

"What's wrong Yugi?" Joey asked concern clear in his voice, all he had been trying to do was give Yugi a bath. He had grabbed the smaller males hand leading Yugi to the awaiting stone tub, and now the small boy was trying to get free from his grasp shaking his head frantically. Not wanting to hurt the small boy even more, Joey released his grip on Yugi's hand.

Yugi stumbled back a couple steps when his hand was abruptly released. Quickly regaining his balance, Yugi pointed at the warm bath, willing Joey to understand him.

'That can't be for me Joey,' thought Yugi almost in tears, 'I don't deserve such treatment. I'm just a slave.'

It only took a few moments before Joey finally understood what was troubling his young friend.

"It's ok Yugi," Joey replied soothingly trying to coax the boy into the water, "This bath is for you. It's ok, I promise."

Yugi, although still unsure, nodded to show he understood. He timidly walked closer to Joey before climbing into the large stone bath. Yugi almost sighed as the warmth of the water quickly penetrated his sore body instantly relaxing the tense muscles. Yugi leaned forward against the side of the tub resting his head on his outstretched arms.

Joey smiled encouragingly at the younger as Yugi slowly walked toward him. And although Joey could clearly see the fear in Yugi's large expressive eyes, he was proud of the younger boy for finally taking such a large leap of faith. Gaining Yugi's trust was not an easy task, seeing as the younger was always fearful of letting others get too close.

Taking pride in his enormous accomplishment, Joey made sure to proceed with caution. He did not want to do anything to frighten Yugi, especially now that he was finally calmed down. Trying to be as gentle as he could, Joey carefully cleaned the deep gashes covering the boys small frame.

"I'm sorry." Joey whispered as he went over a particularly deep cut across the boy's back causing the younger to wince in pain. He felt like he was being stabbed in his heart every time Joey saw the pain flash briefly in his friends eyes, "I'm almost done. Then there is a cream I will put on your back to help with the pain."

Yugi nodded tearfully biting his lower lip to prevent himself from crying out as the pain was excruciating. It felt like his whole body was on fire. Yugi was in such agony that he didn't even realize he had bitten his lip until he felt warm blood beginning to run slowly down his face.

"I'm almost done, little brother," Joey whispered soothingly to his shivering friend as he gently wiped the blood from Yugi's lips, "I know your scared Yugi, but you trust me right?"

Yugi nodded hesitantly. He really did trust the blond, Joey would never hurt him. In fact, the blond did everything in his power to protect Yugi.

"Then please believe me when I say that things will be different here." Joey prayed that fate would not make him a liar, especially considering that Yugi's new Master was the Almighty Pharaoh himself.

'I will do anything to keep you safe Yugi,' Joey thought fiercely as he helped Yugi out of the bath and proceeded to dry the younger with a soft and fluffy towel, 'Even take on the Pharaoh himself.'

'I trust you Joey.' Yugi thought as he closed his eyes. He couldn't help but be a little fearful, his entire life so far, was filled with nothing but lies, pain and suffering. The only time his life had ever been tolerable was when his brothers' were near him.

Joey was starting to get a little worried when Yugi didn't answer him. The younger boy was sitting in front of him with his eyes squeezed shut. His face contorting as if deep in thought. He was overjoyed a moment later, however, when the boy finally opened his eyes. Shimmering amethyst meeting chocolate brown.

Yugi almost sighed as he reopened his eyes. And for the first time, Yugi actually looked someone straight in the eye without flinching. He had never done that before. And although he was fighting his natural instincts to look away, Yugi continued to look the blond square in the eye. He nodded slowly telling Joey he in fact did believe him.

Joey smiled with true happiness lighting up his entire face, they were together again. Except this time, nothing was ever going to separate them again.

Joey had finished drying the younger. He pointed Yugi to lay down on the towel as he proceeded to put a soothing cream on the boy's inflamed back. After the cream was applied, Joey went to retrieve Yugi's new outfit.

Heading straight for the smaller closet, Joey pulled out Yugi's new outfit. Although at first glance it appeared to be just a plain white tunic, it was not something just a normal slave would wear. This particular tunic was pure white, spun from the softest of silks. Intricate golden patterns embroidered along the collar and sleeves of the outfit, telling all Yugi's new status. He was now the Pharaoh's personal slave. Yugi didn't have to listen to anyone else, and no other could touch or punish him.

After grabbing the proper accessories, Joey returned to the bathroom. He saw the look of surprise that crossed Yugi's face when he noticed what he would be wearing.

'That's for me?' Yugi was quite shocked when he saw his new clothing, never before had he seen anything so exquisite. He was extremely nervous as he stepped into his new outfit, he was afraid he was going to rip the delicate material. Yugi was very thankful when Joey saw his hesitation and immediately helped him.

As Joey helped the younger get properly dressed, he couldn't help but be amazed at the small progress he was once again making with his little brother. Normally, Yugi shied away from any kind of touch. Even the smallest contact sent the young boy into a panic, so Joey was very careful to go slowly and not make any sudden movements.

"Come on Yugi," Joey reached out waiting for the younger to accept his outstretched hand and, after a moments hesitation, Yugi reciprocated grasping his brothers hand tightly in his own.

Joey squeezed his brothers hand reassuringly before leading the younger out of his new Masters Chambers.

"Its almost time for the midday meal," Joey informed the younger as he skillfully navigated the maze of corridors, "We should get our Master's lunches ready. I'll show you around the palace along the way."

'This place is huge.' Yugi thought as he followed Joey, trying hard to memorize the correct path so as not to get lost. The problem, however, was that almost all the corridors looked exactly the same, how was he ever going to get back to his Pharaoh's chamber without the blond leading him?

Joey, misreading the younger boys expression, laughed when he saw, what he thought, was an awed expression on Yugi's face. From experience, Joey knew that Yugi very rarely showed any facial expressions and to see him finally comfortable enough to express his emotion, made Joey feel truly honored.

Yugi had been so absorbed in his task of picking out slight differences in the identical hallways that he had only been half listening to his friend. He was quite surprised, and a little hurt, when he heard the blond laughing at him. Yugi turned to regard the blond, hurt evident in his eyes.

"Oh, Yugi," Joey said sadly seeing the pain in his little brothers eyes, "I was not laughing at you. It was just nice you see you finally feeling comfortable enough to let me see your emotions.

Yugi tiled his head to the side. He still did not understand.

"The look on your face reminded me of the time I had my first tour of the palace." Joey clarified, "I was awestruck when Seto first showed me around."

Yugi was unsure on how to respond to that due to the fact that Joey had misread what he was feeling. He was not awestruck. He was terrified! How could Joey just laugh it off like it was no big deal?

"I am not making fun of you," Joey kneels down to his friends height. He placed his hands on the younger boys shoulders, giving a gentle squeeze in reassurance, "Yugi, you're like a little brother to me, you know that right?"

At Yugi's hesitant nod, Joey continued, "Then please trust me. Things will be different here. I promise you."

'I trust you.' Yugi, unable to say the words, just rested his head against his big brother's shoulder. As he felt his brother respond by wrapping strong, comforting arms around him, Yugi reciprocated bringing his smaller arms around Joey's neck.

()()()()()

As Yami sat through the meeting with his councilors, he could not keep his mind off his newest slave. The small boy constantly invading his thoughts. Never before had he felt such strong emotions from one so small. He was starting to feel physically ill at the amount of pain the boy unknowingly emitted.

'Why does this boy stir such emotion in me?' Yami thought not even listening as his councilors droned on about this and about that. He couldn't explain the overwhelming need he felt to protect the small boy, the intense desire not let the other out of his sight. Not even for the briefest of moments. Never before had a slave, or anyone for that matter, awakened such intense emotions in him.

"We need to discuss the situation with the slaves, Sire." A monotone voice bringing Yami back to the present.

"I was just down there yesterday," Yami reported not bothering to hide his yawn, "The work was being done adequately."

"We lost over twenty slaves yesterday," the short stubby male informed his Lord, "The southern wall collapsed, the slaves were trapped within the rubble."

"Then just get more slaves." Yami waved his hand intending to just dismiss the issue. He was unprepared, however, for the feelings of guilt that simple phrase had invoked in him. Not wanting to contemplate the issue further, Yami ended their meeting early.

()()()()()

'Joey must be pretty happy here,' thought Yugi as he continued walking not noticing that Joey wasn't beside him, 'I have never seen him so happy.'

Yugi didn't know how long they sat embracing on the cold hard ground, but it had been so long since Yugi had felt so safe and content, that he was reluctant to leave. When they eventually parted, Yugi wanted nothing more than to be wrapped within those warm arms again. Shrugging of the unaccustomed feelings, Yugi just stood up and started walking away.

Joey was not surprised to feel Yugi squirming in his arms moments later, although Yugi did trust him, he was still not used to affection. He allowed his friend to step out of the embrace, knowing Yugi was still trying to get used to the idea of letting someone get close to him.

So, not saying a word, Joey just smiled and followed his small friend.

After a few more winding turns, the boys had finally reached the kitchens where Yugi was met with yet another surprise. Yugi saw a boy with snow white hair scurrying around the large kitchen, quickly preparing lunch for everyone from Pharaoh to slave.

'Is that?' thought Yugi as he recognized the boy standing in front of him, 'but I thought he was sold Omoro's older brother?'

As if the boy heard Yugi's thoughts, he turned around and smiled when he saw who was there. He quickly dropped what he was doing and ran over to Yugi.

Yugi kept his head down while Ryou hugged him. He knew in his heart that Ryou was a friend, more importantly, his brother. But in his mind, he was still terrified. In his experience, physical touch meant pain. A constant reminder to Yugi of the life he had lead so far.

'Oh Yugi,' Joey sighed sadly as he watched the exchange between the two friends. He saw Yugi tense up immediately when Ryou touch him, 'You can trust us, Yugi, you can trust your brothers.'

"Yugi, what are you doing here?" Ryou quickly changed the subject, he too couldn't help but notice the way Yugi stiffened when Ryou approached him, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Then he turned to Joey, "Joey? How did he get here? When did he get here? What..." Ryou finally stopped to catch his breath and blushed as Joey burst into laughter. After he finally calmed down, Ryou took a deep breath then said in a slower, less rushed voice, "Hello Joey, what can I get for you? Are you hungry again?"

Joey shook his head.

"Not this time," Joey replied, smiling at his long time friend and little brother, "I'm just showing Yugi his way around the palace and just now realized its almost time for the midday meal. And to answer your other question, Yugi just arrived today."

"I'm so glad to see you," Ryou replied happily once again embracing his long time friend, "I thought I'd never see you again."

Yugi, unsure on how to respond (not that he really could), just relished in the feelings of comfort his brother provided. Just like with Joey, Yugi found himself once again resting his head on the others shoulder basking in the feeling of being protected, for finally feeling safe.

"Ahem." Joey cleared his throat. He hated having to break up such a tender reunion, but he had no other choice. They had to leave soon if they were going to make it back to their Masters Chambers on time.

"So, um, you said you were here for the Pharaoh's lunch," Ryou led them over to a counter where a silver tray lay waiting, already loaded with an assortment of wonderfully smelling food. After adding a few more items to the already overloaded tray, Ryou turned and handed it to Yugi.

"Here's the Pharaoh's lunch," Yugi almost rolled his eyes at the obvious statement but took the offered tray nonetheless.

Ryou chose to ignore the look of annoyance that briefly crossed Yugi's face, smacking Joey on his arm when he started to laugh. Handing the blond a similar tray, Ryou continued as if nothing had occurred, "Once you deliver your Master's meals, come back here and I will fix you both something to eat."

Yugi nodded slightly to Ryou as he took to offered tray. As he followed Joey back through the winding maze of hallways and staircases, Yugi couldn't help but wonder what other surprises were in store for him. He never imagined he would ever be reunited with Joey and Ryou, it was a dream come true for the youngest of their group.

'There has to be a catch,' Yugi thought as he rushed to keep up with the blondes longer strides, 'Nothing this good ever happens to me without consequence.'

Yugi had no time to dwell on the issue, however, as they had finally reached his new Masters Chambers. Yugi stopped slightly behind the blond waiting patiently for his Master to respond to Joey's knock. Not a moment later, the Pharaoh's deep voice was heard through the thick wood telling them to enter.

As Joey headed towards his own Chambers, Yugi slowly opened the door while trying to maintain his precarious grasp of the tray in his arms. He sighed in relief when he reached the small table, pleased with himself for not spilling a drop. Setting the tray down, Yugi began removing the items from the silver tray and placing them on the wooden table before his Lord.

"I almost had to wait," Pharaoh said coldly, not even looking at the small slave, "if you are late again, you will be severely punished."

Out of the corner of his eye, Yami saw the young boy flinch when a punishment was mentioned. Wanting nothing more than to ignore the feelings of guilt threatening to overwhelm him, Yami pushed those unwanted feeling aside and concentrated on eating his meal.

Yugi quickly glanced out the window as his Lord ate, making a mental note of the suns position so as not to be late with Pharaoh's lunch again, 'So when Ra is straight overhead, its time for the midday meal."

()()()()()

Joey mindlessly roamed the winding corridors to his Masters Personal Chambers. His Master. That phrase used to repulse Joey with every fiber of his being until he had meet Seto. The older male was nothing like Joey had been expecting. Nothing like the Masters he used to have.

In the beginning, Joey was afraid of his Master. The taller male was very intimidating with his cold blue eyes and icy glare. Eyes that could penetrate the body, right down to your very soul.

But as it turns out, that was not what his new Master was like. Well, maybe in the beginning, but over time, Joey had seen a different side to his new Master. A side that was surprisingly caring and compassionate.

Joey never dreamed he'd have such a life.

In that sense, Joey actually didn't mind being a slave because Seto really didn't treat him as one. He was one of the few that were allowed to call their Masters by their first name, even though he only did that when they were alone. Seto was very kind toward him, he asked instead of ordered, and he never punished him. It was strange to say but Seto treated him more like a friend than a slave and because of that, Joey never tried to run away and was very loyal to his master.

On the way back to Seto's chambers, Joey couldn't help but think about his friend, alone with the Pharaoh. He prayed that one day, Yugi would finally find some happiness in his life. To realize, that there are people that love him, care about him. To understand that he was safe now, the smaller boy didn't have to be so timid around them anymore, he didn't have to be in a constant state of fear.

'I'm just sorry that his new master has to be the Pharaoh,' Joey thought dejectedly, 'He can be as mean as, if not worse, than Yugi's former Masters. That's definitely not what Yugi needs to start opening up to people.'

Joey was abruptly driven from his thoughts when he suddenly crashed into someone, causing him to fall back in surprise, landing harshly on the hard stone. Joey couldn't help but cringe as the tray came crashing down beside him. He quickly scrambled to his knees and bowed in front of the person.

()()()()()

After completely setting the table, Yugi had returned to his bed of rags. He sat quietly in his corner, pondering what it must be like to eat this way all the time. Yugi blushed when his stomach growled in response to the wonderful smells drifting from his Masters plate, he quickly wrapped his arms around his mid section, praying his Master didn't hear him. It seemed that luck was on Yugi's side when his Master made no acknowledgment of even hearing him.

"I am finished," declared Yami getting up from the table signaling that Yugi could begin clearing off the dishes, "Once your tasks are completed, you may ask the Cook for something to eat."

Yugi nodded and started cleaning up the table as the Pharaoh left the room. After carefully balancing everything back onto the tray, Yugi then proceeded to slowly carry his load back down the long winding corridors.

As he walked into the kitchen, Yugi saw Ryou once again preparing for the next meal as he scurried around stirring boiling pots and cutting various vegetables.

Ryou turned around when he heard someone enter the kitchen and nodded in greeting to Yugi.

"You can just put those dishes over there Yugi," Ryou said while pointing to the only clear spot left on the counters.

Yugi nodded and put the dishes down where Ryou had indicated. He stood there for a few moments before he decided it must be his job to do the dishes. He was just about to heat the water when Ryou walked over to him and placed his hand on Yugi's arm making the young boy jump in surprise.

"You don't have to do that Yugi," Ryou replied to the startled boy, "Why don't you sit down over there and I will fix you something to eat."

Yugi nodded hesitantly and sat down at the table. Ryou placed some food on a tray and set it down in front of Yugi.

'This can't all be for me?' Yugi thought as he looked at the overflowing plates of food in front of him. He was lucky if he got table scraps once or twice a week. He looked at Ryou confused and Ryou smiled at him.

"You don't have to eat table scraps here," Ryou explained knowing what Yugi was thinking, and from his own past experiences, "anytime you get hungry just come and find me and I'll fix your something."

Yugi nodded his head to show that he understood, but Ryou could tell he was still unsure. He ate the food cautiously as if he was expecting someone to jump out and start yelling at him or take it away from him. Ryou sensed Yugi's apprehension and tried to calm the young boys fears. He placed his hand comfortingly on Yugi's shoulder. He noticed Yugi tense up and smiled at him.

"It's all right Yugi," Ryou said calmly, "life here is different than with master. As long as you do what your told, they will not hurt you."

'That's exactly what Joey said,' Yugi thought as he continued to eat his food. It was the best thing he'd ever tasted not that he had a lot to compare it to but, to him, it was still the best. Although he was still a bit nervous, he nodded his head to please Ryou.

()()()()()

As hard as he tried, Joey was unable to keep the trembling out of his voice as he addressed the one he ran into.

"Please forgive this clumsy slave," Joey replied shakily.

Even though he was Seto's personal slave, and no other could punish him, Joey automatically tensed in anticipation of the blow he would receive. But just as quickly as his body tightened up, he immediately relaxed when he heard familiar laughter. Glancing up confirmed his assumption was correct. He had run into Seto.

Seto, no longer smiling, offered his hand and helped the boy stand up,

"Thoughts like those will get you in trouble," Seto stated seriously, "Especially when your thinking about your Master and Pharaoh. You better hope that Pharaoh did not hear those thoughts as well, he will not be nearly as forgiving."

Joey kept his head down, ashamed he had been thinking such thoughts in the first place.

"I'm sorry Seto," He replied sadly, "I just want Yugi to know that all people are not like his former masters. That there are some people that care about him. I want him to have the kind of life you have given me."

"I understand," Seto replied and he truly did, "Go to the Kitchens and retrieve another tray. I will meet you in my Chambers."

"Yes, Seto," Joey replied immediately staying in his bowed position until his Master turned the corner. Once is Master was out of sight, Joey quickly gathered up the scattered dishes. When that task was complete, Joey hurried to the Kitchens to get his Master a new meal and discard the broken dishes.

Joey practically ran down the long corridors, not wanting to keep His Lord waiting. Arriving at the kitchens, Joey was surprised to see Yugi sitting at the counter.

"Hello," Joey replied suddenly startling both boys.

Yugi shut his eyes tightly, his entire body tensing up at the sudden unexpected voice. He relaxed a moment later, however, when he realized that he recognized that voice. Cracking one eye open confirmed who the voice came from. Yugi almost sighed in relief.

"Sorry Yuge," Joey apologized, he never meant to frighten his friend, "What are you doing here anyway, I thought you were still with Pharaoh."

"Pharaoh had his lunch, now its time for Yugi to eat." Ryou answered for the smaller boy, "What about you? Are you hungry again?"

Joey blushed before answering, "No, I was daydreaming when I ran into Seto."

Joey paused before whispering, "Literally."

Ryou laughed when he heard Joey's explanation, "So I take it, Master Seto needs another plate?"

"Yea," Joey replied sheepishly, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment, "I cleaned up the mess as best I could, but I should probably still sweep the floor. Make sure all the glass has been picked up."

Ryou laughed again as he set about getting another tray prepared for Master Seto.

As the boys laughed and joked around, neither noticed that they were being watched as crimson eyes observed their every move.

()()()()()

'I have never seen a slave as terrified as that little one is,' Yami thought as he studied the interaction between the three boys.

The blond and the boy with the snow white hair, 'Ryou and Joey.' his mind supplied, were playfully bantering, while the smallest of the three, sat quietly at the table nibbling on his plate of food.

Yami had never seen a boy so frightened. The small slave was very cautiously eating his lunch, but he still looked ready to jump at the slightest command. It was as if he was expecting to get punished for simply just eating.

'Why do I even care about his feelings?' Yami thought watching the Kitchen slave and Seto's slave having a mini food fight, while his look-a-like continued eating as if nothing was occurring around him, 'why does this one pathetic slave stir something in me? A need to protect? A need to comfort?'

As the friends started dispersing, Yami decided to head over to his personal Gardens. The only place were he would not date be disturbed, he needed to think.

()()()()()

After Yugi had finished his lunch, he nodded his thanks to Ryou and headed back to the Pharaoh's chambers for further orders.

'My big brothers, I have finally found two of my brothers.' Yugi thought happily as he slowly navigated his way through the palace, 'Could things finally be looking up for me?'

Yugi paused, shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts, 'No, every time I think its going to be different...Master always makes sure I remember my place.'

Yugi slowed down even further when his thoughts turned depressing. Although he trusted his brothers, Yugi was still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He knew that things did not stay good for very long, at least, not in his experience.

'Get your head out of the clouds stupid.' Yugi berated himself when he realized he had already reached his Master's Chambers.

Yugi shook his head to clear his thoughts as he timidly knocked on the hard wood door waiting patiently for the Pharaoh to call him in. When he received no reply, he cautiously opened the door and peeked his head in. Yugi was surprised to see that the pharaoh was not in the room.

'I wonder where he went?' Yugi thought entering in empty room, 'what does he expect me to do in his absence? He told me my duties, but he has not shown me where anything is yet.' Then Yugi started to panic. 'What if he did tell me and I forgot. I better think of something quick. I don't want to get punished again.'

At that thought the young boy started trembling. He looked around the room for anything to do so the Pharaoh wouldn't be mad at him for just standing around. The room was already clean and Yugi couldn't find anything else to do.

()()()()()

For as long as Yami had been sitting in his gardens, he was still no closer to an answer than he was when he first arrived. For some reason he could not get the small boy off his mind, especially how terrified the boy was when just eating his lunch.

'Why do I even care about his feelings?' Yami thought wandering mindlessly through his garden. 'I must talk to Seto's slave and the kitchen slave later about the boy, then maybe I will understand this unusual feeling that I'm having whenever he is around. Wait a minute.' Yami thought angrily, 'I, The Pharaoh, can not and will not go up to a common slave and start asking them questions. I will not appear weak in front of these weak and pathetic slaves.'

Yami, having made up his mind, quietly walked away heading back to his personal chambers.

()()()()()

Yugi, still in the process of finding something to do, turned around fearfully when he heard a noise by the door. He immediately went to his knees when he saw the Pharaoh staring at him. Yugi pressed his forehead further into the plush rugs, trembling fearfully as he heard the Pharaoh's steps get closer.

"Get up slave," Yami ordered, crimson eyes narrowing at the cowering boy, "I need to tell you exactly what I expect of you when you do your work."

Yugi shakily got up and quietly followed the Pharaoh out of the room. Yami told him what he needed to do in every room and then led him back to his chambers.

"I have to get back to my meetings, you start on your work but you must be back in my chambers before Ra sets. Understand?" Yami said.

Yugi nodded his head and quickly left the room to start his work.

On his way to his meetings, Yami ran into Joey in the hallway. Joey bowed respectfully and awaited the Pharaoh to address him.

"Where is your master?" Yami asked the blond haired slave.

"I think he's in the throne room waiting for you Pharaoh." Joey replied.

Yami didn't reply and headed toward the throne room. When he arrived he saw Seto sitting in his chair beside the throne and approached him silently.

Yami sat down and waited for his counsel to start talking.

"You look troubled Pharaoh." Seto remarked, "what's wrong?"

Yami looked at him and sighed, "I don't know...it's just that," he stared to admit before his cold personality reappeared, "Nothing is wrong, Counsel continue."

Seto was saddened when Yami wouldn't tell him, then he went back to his cold self.

'What's bothering you Yami?' Seto thought, carefully hiding his thoughts from Yami, 'You used to be able to tell me anything.'

Yami noticed Seto's sadness, 'Forgive me, my friend, but how do I tell you that I, the Pharaoh, am having feelings for a slave. But then again I've noticed something between you and your slave.'

"Seto I need to speak with you privately after this meeting." Yami said.

"Yes, Pharaoh." Seto answered.

For Yami this meeting seemed to go on forever and he was thankful when the old man finally quit talking. Yami got up and started walking toward his private garden. Seto followed and waited patiently for Yami to tell him what was wrong.

Yami walked around the peaceful gardens for a moment before he went to the bench and sat down.

"Seto, I am having strange feelings since I first saw my new slave." Yami said quietly, embarrassed about admitting a weakness to anyone, even his best friend.

Seto nodded his head in understanding, "What kind of feelings, my friend?" He asked even though he already knew the answer just by looking in Yami's expressive crimson eyes. Even though Yami's face never showed any expression, Seto could always tell what his friend was feeling by looking into his eyes. They were the one place not even the Pharaoh could keep his feelings from showing.

Yami sighed and replied, "I sense a deep sadness and pain in that boy. He makes me feel like I want to protect him from everything, make sure he never gets hurt again and I am guessing that, that's how you feel for your slave as well."

Seto was surprised that Yami picked up on that. He tried to be careful about letting is show too much while they were in public.

"You're right Yami," Seto admitted with a smile, "that is how I feel toward Joey, and since you picked up on that, I'm sure that you know what it is you feel toward Yugi."

"I guess I do know, but how do I even get close to him when he is so afraid of people and won't talk to me?" Yami asked. He also wanted to ask his friend about something else he sensed from Yugi, but decided to keep that to himself.

"Just try and be his friend first, and hopefully he will start to open up to you." Seto answered

"What do you mean by hopefully?" Yami asked not liking that response one bit.

"You heard what Joey said, he's known him longer and Yugi won't even talk or open up to him. Maybe you should talk to Joey. He might be able to help you better."

"I can't just go up to a slave and ask that." Yami replied stubbornly crossing his arms, "I refuse to appear weak in front of my slaves."

"Well then you will never get anywhere with Yugi." Seto informed his friend, "From what I've seen that boy needs to be shown affection for once in his life. He won't see you as nothing but his Master until you show him otherwise."

Yami opened his mouth but shut it quickly at Seto's remark.

'He's right.' Yami thought, 'how can I get him to open up to me if I refuse to do the same for him?'

"You're right." Yami admitted reluctantly, "I shall go find your slave and ask him."

"You're going to have to tell him why and how you feel." Seto said, "from what I've seen so far, Joey thinks of Yugi as his little brother and will want to make sure you're not going to hurt him."

"I know," Yami admitted again rather reluctantly, "do you know where he is?"

Seto looked toward the sun, "if I know him well enough, he should be in the kitchen eating or pestering Ryou." He replied laughing.

Yami shook his head and got up. He headed toward the kitchen his thoughts on the relationship between Seto and his slave. 'Seto is the only person I know who call the slaves by their names.' he thought, 'Joey, I think that's his name, seems really happy and he makes Seto happy as well.'

Yami was brought out of his thoughts when he heard talking coming from the kitchen and as Seto had thought, there was Joey sitting at the table talking to the kitchen slave. He stopped at the entrance to listen to what they were saying.

"How did you meet Yugi?" Joey asked curiously, wondering if their stories were the same.

"He saved me." Ryou whispered as he looked over at his blond friend, his large chocolate brown eyes sad. The snow haired teen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"He had saved me from a guard," Ryou continued, finally opening his eyes to look at his friend once more, "It was my first week there, I had fallen from exhaustion. I had tried to get up, but the Overseer kept hitting me, telling me I was lazy. That I was too slow."

Ryou paused for a moment, fighting to get his emotions back under control.

"I was almost unconscious when I heard the Overseer shout something in frustration. I was terrified but I looked anyway. There was Yugi, standing defiantly between me and the Overseer. To this day, I still don't understand why he did it. He didn't even know me. Anyway, the guard was furious, he grabbed Yugi by the neck and dragged him away.

Joey gave Ryou all the time that he needed. The blond could see how hard this was to relive. He could see it in Ryou's eyes, in his posture, in his voice.

"It's ok Ryou," Joey placed a comforting hand on his friends shoulder. Although it hurt Ryou to tell the story, the blond knew that it was good for Ryou to talk about it, get his emotions out so they do not stay bottled inside, "Take all the time you need."

Ryou smiled at his older brother. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around the blonds shoulders.

Ryou, from the comfort of his brothers arms, continued his story, "He was gone for the rest of the day so when it was time for bed I went looking for him. It took me almost most of the night to find him but I finally did. Master had him tied up in the dungeons. He was naked and bleeding. He had large gashes on his back that I didn't even want to know what they came from. His wrists were raw from the rope digging into his skin as he hung from the ceiling. He was also unconscious and had blood running down his face. It took me hours to get him down. I stayed up most of the night cleaning his injuries as best I could, the whole time fearing that he'll never wake up again from the large wound on his forehead. I was so relieved when he finally woke up during the night. He looked around the room fearfully and then was confused when he saw me next to him."

"My God." was all that Joey could say, "what did he do next?"

"It took me awhile to get him to calm down. I gently placed him in my lap and rubbed circles softly on his bandaged back. After I finally calmed him down I told him how grateful I was for him helping me the other night .I thought he might have been falling asleep but then he suddenly lunged forward wrapped his arms around me and started crying silently in my shirt. I held him as he cried but I was quite surprised. I was told when I first got there by the other slaves that Yugi didn't show his emotions, that he did help people but never got close to anyone. I rubbed his back reassuring him that I was there for him. Unfortunately just as Yugi was finally going to sleep, the guard came in and noticed us together so he grabbed Yugi and dragged him away again. I was so worried that he was going to punish Yugi again and I cried when I heard the sound of the whips. What surprised me the most was that they never came back to do the same to me. He just left me alone. I tried to find Yugi the next day, I found out that he was sold to another master and I never saw him again until today. Where is Yugi anyway?"

Ryou said the last part just to change the subject as he could feel the tears threatening to fall once more.

"I think he's doing his work now." Joey replied, sensing the others need to talk about something else, "you'll probably see him later when he comes in for Pharaoh's dinner."

"I heard that his former master was the worst one yet." Ryou whispered sadly.

"Yeah he was," Joey admitted, "he only gave his slaves the scraps that was left over, that is if they didn't eat it all and they usually did.

"I noticed that. He looked at me quite surprised when I placed his food in front of him."

Both of them stopped talking when they saw the Pharaoh walk into the kitchen. They bowed immediately and waited to be acknowledged.

Yami cleared his throat unsure how to ask about Yugi.

"Follow me." Yami commanded and they followed him obediently.

He led them back to his chambers and motioned for them to enter. Once they were seated he decided to tell them why he brought them here.

"I want to ask you both about Yugi." Yami said. He could tell both boys were shocked at his statement.

"Why?" Joey asked suddenly suspicious of the Pharaoh's change in behavior. Then after receiving a smack from Ryou, he quickly added, "I mean, can I ask why, my Pharaoh."

"I sense something whenever he is around. It makes me want to get to know him better." Yami replied nervously.

Ryou and Joey smiled at each other both thinking the same thing, 'Maybe this is Yugi's chance to finally be happy.'

"What do you want to know, My Pharaoh?" Ryou asked politely.

Yami was thankful that it wasn't as hard as he thought it was going to be. "Well you have been his friends longer and I want him to feel more comfortable around me. I don't want him to be terrified all the time."

"Unfortunately, that we can't help you with My Pharaoh." Ryou replied sadly, "Joey's known him the longest and Yugi won't even open up to him. All I can say is just be nice to him and show him that you care. Just to warn you, he is not used to any gentle contact so he will tense up and he's very afraid of loud or raised voices. I'm sure if you're patient with him he will learn to trust you."

Yami was about to ask another question but stopped when he heard a timid knock on his chamber door.

"Enter." he commanded, a little annoyed that someone had interrupted them. His annoyance disappeared quickly when he saw it was his little slave that entered the room shyly.

'I wonder what they're doing here,' Yugi thought looking at his friends confused, 'Is Master going to send me away? Have I done something wrong?'

"You two have your orders, now go do them." Yami replied to Yugi's unspoken question as Ryou and Joey got up.

They both nodded and went up to Yugi.

"See you at dinner." Joey remarked and Yugi nodded. As they left the room, Yami slowly walked up to Yugi. He noticed sadly that as he approached, Yugi quickly went to his knees, gaze always downward.

"It's okay Yugi, you can get up." Yami said reassuringly, "I'm not going to hurt you anymore and I sincerely apologize for the times that I have."

'Is this real?' Yugi thought as he looked up unsure and confused. 'Or is this another trick?'

Yami could see the uncertain look in his eyes.

"I don't want you to feel afraid around me anymore." Yami replied to Yugi unspoken question, "I don't want to be the cold hearted person that I have been and I won't treat you like your former masters either. You won't be punished for having friends or speaking while you're here and you don't have to worry about being sold away either. Unless you disobey my rules and you have to go pretty far to get sold around here."

Yami watched the internal struggle that Yugi seemed to be having with himself. 'He must have really been hurt by his other masters.' Yami thought.

'I want to believe what master has told me but I've been tricked so many times by my other masters,' Yugi thought. 'I'm so confused. What should I do?'

He nodded his head to show he understood what Yami told him, but he was still unsure about what to do.

'Every time I trust someone they end up hurting me,' Yugi thought, 'the only ones who are still my friends are Malik, Joey and Ryou. Maybe I could trust him also.'

Yugi was unaware that Yami was reading his thoughts, he was too deep in his own to notice.

'That's why he's so reluctant to believe me. I wonder who Malik is?' Yami thought to himself. Yami came back to the present when he heard someone knocking on his door.

"Enter." Yami commanded and smiled when he saw Seto and Joey enter his chambers.

"Hello Yami." Seto replied as he came in. Joey went up to Yugi right away and started talking to him, "care to join us for dinner?"

Yami nodded and glanced over to Yugi.

"Come on Yugi," Joey replied grinning happily, "its dinner time."

"You're always hungry Joey." Seto said laughing, "I swear you have a bottomless pit for a stomach."

Joey looked at his master and grinned, "Hey, I'm a growing boy and I need to eat."

Yami and Seto laughed at Joey. "How about we eat dinner in here tonight." Yami suggested. Everyone agreed. Yami then turned toward Yugi and Joey, "go and get dinner you two." Yami said in a authoritative voice.

"Yes, My Pharaoh." Joey answered. He grabbed Yugi's hand and led him to the kitchen. When they left the room, Seto turned to Yami.

"So?" Seto asked.

"I talked to his friends and heard some disturbing things," Yami started, "I was just talking to Yugi when you guys came in. I heard his thoughts, he wants to trust me but I'm guessing that he's been tricked many times by his former masters."

"I can see why he's not to trusting of people. What did they say you should do?" Seto asked curiously.

"They basically just told me the same thing as you." Yami replied rather annoyed, "the problem is that the other two slaves have known him longer and he is just as quiet and withdrawn to them as with anyone else."

"You'll just have to think of a way to get him to open up and be less scared," Seto said, "it won't be easy, but I'm sure you can think of something."

Yami looked around the room and then got an idea, "well I could probably start with getting him a new bed," Yami stated, "that might help a little bit."

Seto in approval, he was going to say something else but a timid knock at the door stopped him.

"Enter," replied Yami.

The door opened slowly and three people walked in. Yami was surprised to see that Ryou had come with them.

"Why are you here?" Yami asked curiously.

"I was helping Yugi and Joey carry the food back here, My Pharaoh." replied Ryou as he walked over to the table and set the trays down.

Yugi followed behind him and was just about to set the tray down, when he suddenly tripped on the edge of the rug. The tray landed with a loud bang as it hit the ground followed closely by Yugi. He scrambled quickly to his knees, fearfully keeping his head bowed down. He tensed as he waited for the feel of the whip or whatever else his master decided to use on him.

"Yugi!" Joey exclaimed running toward the small boy, "are you alright?"

Yugi looked up fearfully and nodded his head at Joey, then he glanced at his master and was surprised that he didn't see anger in his eyes. Ryou walked up behind Yugi and helped him to his feet. Yugi was very hesitant, 'why is he helping me up, my master hasn't told me to stand yet.'

Yami noticed the way Yugi was very hesitant to stand and, reading his thoughts, he knew why, "It's okay Yugi," he said calmly, "you can stand up."

Yugi looked up surprised, getting quickly to his feet. He looked at his master confused as to why he wasn't being punished but when he noticed his master looking back, he quickly lowered his head once again.

'Why is he not punishing me?' Yugi thought as he watched his master approaching him, 'All my other masters would of severely punished me for dropping the food.'

Yami approached Yugi slowly, "its alright, Yugi." Yami replied calmly, "you're not going to get punished just for dropping the tray."

Seto was shocked, he had seen Yami punish people for doing that and other small things. 'He must really like Yugi,' Seto smiled at the thought, 'I hope so, maybe Yugi can help melt Yami's cold heart and show him compassion and love that not even his own parents had shown him.'

Yugi looked up at Yami questioningly wondering if he had really heard him correctly, but when Yami smiled at him he quickly lowered his head again.

"You..um Ryou," Yami said unsure, "go and get another tray of food."

Ryou nodded his head and bowed, "Yes, Your highness."

Ryou then left the room quickly to get some more food. 'Wow, I can't believe how nice the Pharaoh is being,' he thought to himself, 'he must really like Yugi. I hope so, with the life that Yugi has had he deserves to have some happiness in it for once.' Ryou entered the kitchen and started preparing two more plates of food, then he quickly returned to the Pharaoh's chambers and set the food on the table.

Everyone sat down and started eating. Yami and Seto were talking about a ceremony that was taking place soon while Joey and Ryou were talking about things they used to do together when they were younger. Yami stopped talking to Seto and glanced around the table. He was surprised to see that Yugi has not touched his food and he still kept his gaze on the table.

"Yugi is there something wrong with the food?" Yami asked, "why are you not eating?"

"A slave is not allowed to eat at the same time as their master." Joey answered Pharaoh, "that was one of the rules that our former master had." Then he turned to Yugi, "You are allowed to eat with your master here Yugi, you don't have to wait until their finished."

Yugi looked up, 'but I had to wait earlier when Pharaoh ate his lunch,' he thought confused, 'why is it okay now but not then?'

Yami read his mind and quickly understood his confusion, "if you're invited to sit with your master during a meal then you may eat with them."

/What are you talking about?/ Seto asked.

[I made him wait until I was finished eating before I sent him to the kitchen for his own food] Yami replied, [I was angry at him for being late, I didn't think. OK?]

/Well, you need to control your anger Yami/ Seto reminded his friend /Especially if you want the little one to trust you/

[I know] Yami sighed in defeat, he knew that his friend was right

Yugi, not noticing the exchange between his Master and the Sorcerer, nodded his head and slowly ate his lunch, he kept looking up as if he was expecting someone to hit him for doing something wrong. When he received no hits or yelling he continued eating.

When dinner was over, the three slaves started balancing the plates back onto the trays. As they headed out the door, Yami stopped them.

"When you're done putting the dishes in the kitchen you may take a break," Yami replied, "just be back at your chambers before Ra sets, Understand?"

Ryou and Joey smiled at each other and grabbed Yugi's hand and quickly set off for the kitchen.

Seto looked at Yami, "I have never seen you give a slave time off," Seto commented astonished, "and I have known you your entire life."

"I really can't believe it either," Yami admitted, "is it possible to fall in love with someone that you've only known for a short period of time?"

"Yes it is," Seto answered smiling, "its called love at first sight, its how I felt when I saw Joey for the first time."

"Was he just like Yugi?" Yami asked curiously, not really knowing much about his friends slave.

"He wasn't like Yugi, actually he was the exact opposite." replied Seto with a smile, "he would always talk back and had a very smart mouth."

"How did you eventually get through to him?" asked Yami, interested in hearing more.

"It took awhile," Seto admitted, "I just did pretty much the same things that you're doing. I'm afraid that with Yugi's past and untrusting nature, it might take a little longer."

Yami saddened at that and was about to reply when he noticed that Joey had returned. Joey walked up to them and bowed his head.

"If I may speak freely, its not part of Yugi's nature to be untrusting," Joey replied sadly, "he used to be very trusting even to people he just met, but some of his masters used that against him and now he's too scared to trust someone again. I think that's why even though we're friends, he still thinks that we will betray him."

"How long have you known him?" Seto asked.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure," Joey answered, "we had the same master for about 5 years and its been at least two since I last saw him."

"What was that master like?" Yami asked curiously.

"He was the worst one I had had up to that point, but from what I heard, some of the ones Yugi had were worse." Joey shuddered at that thought, "he also had the no speaking rule and you got punished for every little thing that you did. He especially hated when the slaves would start becoming friends, anyone who did was sold away very quickly."

"Why didn't they like the slaves to talk?" asked Yami suddenly, still confused about that particular rule their former master's seemed to like, "what is the harm in that if they still do as their told."

"He was afraid that there would be an uprising and even though we were weaker, we still outnumbered him and I think that made him uneasy."

"How did you finally meet him?" Seto asked.

"He saved me from a punishment. I had just arrived there and was smarting off to the guards. The first time I saw Yugi, he was hiding behind one of the slave shacks watching me with an almost awed expression on his face. I didn't think much about it until the guard followed my line of vision and saw the boy. He quickly forgot about me and started yelling as he chased the younger boy down but I don't know what for." Joey replied, "I decided to follow them just to find out what was going on. It took me almost two days to find him and when I did, I found him in a dark dungeon and he was chained to a wall. It looked like he was beaten every minute that he was missing. I saw the gratitude in his eyes as I helped him down even though his facial expression stayed the same. I was the only one that ever saw something other than fear in his eyes. I was surprised to hear from Ryou that Yugi cried after Ryou had saved him. I'm just happy that he finally is starting to feel more comfortable around others. I just wanted to tell you that maybe it might not take that long Pharaoh for him to open up to you also."

"You really think so?" Yami asked.

"Yeah I do," admitted Joey, "he is still a little unsure about you, but I can see in his eyes that he wants to trust you. It still might take awhile, but so far your doing a good job. Well I better get back before Ryou and Yugi start to wonder where I went."

"Thanks for the help and advice," Yami admitted uneasily, "I appreciate it."

Joey bowed his head and walked to the door, he turned around and smiled before quietly closing it behind him.

Seto returned the smile to Joey and looked at Yami amazed, "I have never heard you thank a slave," he said, "I think that Yugi coming into your life was destined by the gods. I have never seen you so happy."

Yami looked at his friend and smiled in return, "You know Seto, I think you may be right."

Yami stood up and headed toward the door, "Come on, lets get a nicer bed for Yugi to sleep on."

Yami and Seto had the bed set up and made by the time Yugi and Joey had returned to the Pharaoh's chambers.

'Where did my bed go?' Yugi wondered as he looked around the room confused before he finally looked questioningly at Yami.

"This is for you," Yami replied to Yugi's unspoken question, "that way you don't have to sleep on the floor."

Yugi walked up to the bed cautiously and couldn't believe his eyes. 'Why would he get me a bed?' Yugi thought still very confused, 'slaves are not supposed to have beds, my other masters always said that I was lucky enough just to get the rags that I slept on.'

"Well come on Joey," Seto said, "its getting late we should be going now."

Joey nodded his head and walked up to Yugi who was still staring from the bed to Yami and then back again. He put his hand on Yugi's shoulder and saddened when he felt Yugi jump.

He leaned down and whispered, "life here is very different from what you have known. The Pharaoh is trying to be your friend, please let him and remember that Ryou and I are your friends also. We love you little brother, and you don't have to be afraid anymore."

Yugi looked up at Joey surprised then he smiled as he nodded his head. Joey returned the smile and gave him a hug, he was elated that Yugi didn't flinch or tense up at the touch.

"Good night Pharaoh," Joey said out loud, "Good night Yugi, remember what I said."

Yugi nodded his head again and Yami replied, "Good night you two, see you tomorrow."

Seto and Joey left the room and Yugi returned to looking at the bed.

"Well," Yami said, "first off, we'll take a bath. Then go to bed."

Yugi started trembling a the mention of a bath, but still fearfully followed. As Yami started getting undressed, Yugi started to shiver even more.

'Now he will become like all my other masters.' Yugi thought sadly,'he was only pretending to be nice.'

Yami was about to get into the water when he glanced over and noticed Yugi's trembling.

"Are you okay?" Yami asked him concerned.

Yugi didn't even raise his head, 'I knew it was too good to be true,' thought Yugi as he backed up in the corner and slid down the wall bringing his knees to his chest.

Yami walked up to him slowly and kneeled down in front of him. He put his hand on Yugi's shoulder and Yugi started trembling worse. Nothing Yami tried was helping and he was starting to get worried so he decided to ask Seto about it.

[Seto I need you and Joey to come here as soon as possible]

/Why, what's wrong?/ Seto asked concerned.

[I was about to take a bath but Yugi started shaking and now he's on the ground trembling like crazy ] Yami replied.

/We're on our way now./ replied Seto.

Yami was relieved when he heard Seto and Joey enter his room, he was surprised to see Ryou with them. Joey immediately went over to Yugi to try and calm him down while Ryou asked Yami to join him in the next room.

"What happened Pharaoh?" Ryou asked, worry for his friend clearly seen in his bright brown eyes.

"All I was going to do was take a bath," Yami explained, "and Yugi just started freaking out and I don't know why."

Ryou lowered his head and sighed sadly, "I know why, My Pharaoh," he replied, "The master that we had together used to do things to him."

"What kinds of things?" Yami asked, not sure if he really wanted to hear the answer.

Ryou paused, unable to answer as tears came to his eyes.

"He liked to molest the younger children in the bathing chambers," Ryou replied hesitantly, "so when you said take a bath, he must of had a flashback."

"A flashback? No wonder he was so frightened," Yami said, "that's not at all what I meant."

"I know that, My Pharaoh." said Ryou reassuring the Pharaoh, "but to Yugi he thought of his former master and he had no idea what you meant. I just wanted you to know what happened."

"I appreciate you telling me this. Does he have flashbacks often?" Yami asked suddenly not wanting to set off another one.

"I honestly don't know my Pharaoh," Ryou replied softly, "its been many years since I last saw him."

"I see," Yami said, "lets see if they calmed Yugi down yet."

As they entered the bathhouse, Yami was saddened to see that Yugi was still shaking on the floor. Joey was kneeling in front of him, whispering comforting words to him.

"Its okay Yugi," Joey whispered, "I know what Omoro and our other masters did, but that's not what Pharaoh meant when he said take a bath. He wouldn't do that to you."

'But how can I be sure,' Yugi thought, 'how can I trust him?'

Yugi looked up tearfully and leaned closer to Joey. He hid his face in Joey's shirt and started to cry. Joey, startled, wrapped his arms around the small boy and held him as he continued to cry. When Yugi had finally calmed down and fell asleep, Joey picked up the small boy and carried him out of the bathhouse. He gently placed him on his bed and then turned back to the Pharaoh and his master.

"How is he?" Yami asked concerned as he stood by the side of the bed, looking worriedly at the small boy..

"He'll be alright now," Joey replied, gently brushing the bangs away from his little brother's eyes, "Our former masters were very cruel, they especially liked the younger boys and he thought you were going to do the things that they did."

"Well since everything is alright now, we should get back to my chambers." Seto replied, still standing in the open doorway, "Good night Yami."

"Thanks guys," replied Yami gratefully, "See you guys in the morning."

Seto, Joey and Ryou left the room and Yami glanced sadly at the now sleeping boy.

'What terrible things have they done to you,' Yami thought to himself as he sat on the edge of the bed, 'I would never hurt you the way that they have.'

With that promise Yami took one more look at Yugi before climbing into his own bed. His last thoughts were of Yugi before he finally fell asleep.


	2. Have I really changed so much in one day

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Two

Can a person really change so much in one day?

The next morning, Yami awoke, once again, to the sun shining in his eyes. He wanted to bury his head under the covers and go back to sleep, but he knew they had a lot of work to do so he had to get up. He was about to order his slave to get up and get him dressed, when yesterday's events came rushing back into his mind. Yami glanced over across the room and smiled at the young boy still sleeping soundly on his new bed. He was curled up into a ball facing Yami, with just his tri-colored hair sticking out from under the covers.

'He looks so peaceful' Yami thought, 'how could anyone hurt such an angel. I can't believe how fast I have become attached to the young boy. Never before has a servant touched me so much. I just hope that despite his past, he will eventually learn to trust and finally open up to me.'

Normally, Yugi would have been punished quite a few times yesterday if Yami had been his old self, but he couldn't bring himself to harm the small boy.

Yami's smile turned into a frown when Yugi started whimpering in his sleep. It seemed as if the small boy was not even allowed any peace while he slept. Not wanting Yugi to suffer anymore, Yami got out of bed quickly and went over to the small boy. Yugi had small handfuls of the sheets and started thrashing around on the bed with tears running down his angelic face. Yami put his hand on Yugi's shoulder and gently shook the young boy trying to wake him up. After a few minutes, Yugi sat up quickly and scanned the room with large frightened eyes. When he finally saw Yami he quickly got out of bed and kneeled in front of his master waiting for the pain to start because he had overslept.

"Its all right Yugi," Yami said soothingly, resting his hand gently on the small boys shoulder, relieved that the younger didn't not flinch from his touch, "I won't hurt you."

Yugi hesitantly nodded his head and stood up, but his gaze remained on the ground.

"Come on Yugi," Yami replied, "lets get dressed, then go and have some breakfast. How does that sound?"

Again Yugi nodded his head hesitantly and followed Yami to get some new clothes. After they finished changing, they went to Seto's room to see if they would join them for breakfast. As Yami knocked on the door, he could hear laughter on the other side. Joey answered the door after a few minutes, his face was red from laughing so hard and he had tears in his eyes.

"Good morning, Pharaoh," replied Joey cheerfully then he glanced behind Yami, "Good morning Yugi."

"Are you ready to go to breakfast?" asked Yami amused

"Yea, that's just where we were going." replied Seto walking up behind Joey

Yami and Seto started down the hallway with Joey and Yugi following. Yugi looked at Joey curiously and Joey seemed to understand his unspoken question.

"Seto is not like any other Master I've ever had in my life," Joey started quietly, "it's really cool, he treats me more like a friend than a slave."

Yugi looked at him skeptically, but didn't understand what he meant. 'A Master that treats you like a friend?' Yugi thought unbelieving, 'Masters are not nice, they're cruel and love to torture us just for fun. But then again, Joey does look happier than I've ever seen him before. I wonder if I'll ever meet a Master like that. So far, Pharaoh is the very first Master to not beat me or hurt me. Well, he did yesterday, but he changed so much in just one day. Maybe I finally found someone who is going to be nice to me, maybe even be another friend?' Yugi thought hopefully, then shook his head, 'Yeah right, who am I kidding, I know what will happen. I'll finally trust someone again and he'll do the same thing all my other masters had done, betrayed me and hurt me in the worst possible way. No, there is no one that I can trust, except for maybe for my brothers.'

Yugi continued walking beside Joey deep in his thoughts, unaware that Pharaoh and Seto heard his every thought. Yugi was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice that the Pharaoh had stopped and ended up running into him, knocking Yugi to the ground.

Pharaoh turned around when he felt someone bump into him and noticed Yugi sitting on the ground. Joey stopped immediately and helped Yugi up. Yugi smiled gratefully and accepted the offered hand.

"Are you all right, Yugi?" Joey asked

Yugi nodded and continued walking toward the kitchen, while Joey ran to catch up to him. Yami and Seto just looked at each other.

"Did you hear him?" Seto asked quietly

"Yea, I did," answered Yami, "he wants to trust me, but he's still afraid of getting hurt again. I wonder who Malik is, this is the second time Yugi mentioned him as a brother."

'You could ask him,' Seto suggested, 'or I could ask Joey.'

'Ask Joey,' Yami replied, 'You know Yugi won't speak."

A loud noise ahead of them stopped their conversation. They both looked at each other and started running toward the commotion they heard ahead of them. When they got there, they saw Honda, the head guard, holding Yugi up against the wall with a hand around his throat. He already had a bruise forming around his eye and blood running down from a cut above his eyebrow and another on his lip. Honda hit him in the face again to try and stop his struggling, but that only made Yugi struggle worse. Joey started pounding his back trying to get him to let go of Yugi.

"Let him go!" Joey yelled. Then he smiled when he noticed Pharaoh and Seto standing behind the guard, "don't you know who his master is?"

"Nope," Honda said unknowing who was behind him, "don't know, don't care."

"I would suggest you put him down now, unless you really want to see me mad." Yami said calmly.

The guard froze when he recognized the voice and quickly turned around. He immediately dropped Yugi to the ground and got down to his knees. Joey ran to Yugi and made sure the small boy was all right. Yugi looked up at Joey with watery eyes and nodded a thanks. Joey offered his hand and helped Yugi get back on his feet.

"Pharaoh, I didn't know that he was your slave," Honda replied, "I thought he was just another useless slave."

"Even if he wasn't Pharaoh's slave, what did he do to deserve the treatment he received?" Seto asked, crossing his arms in front of him, "and why didn't you listen to Joey when he said to release him? You know very well that Joey is my servant, and you should have listened to him."

"I don't listen to slaves no matter who their master is." replied Honda angrily, ignoring the first question, "I don't have to take orders from no good for nothing, worthless, lazy slaves. Besides, since when did you care what happened to the slaves? You never cared before, why now? What makes this loser so special?"

Yami didn't know how to respond. 'He's right, normally I would just continue walking thinking that the slave deserved their punishment.' Yami thought, then out loud he replied, "That's none of your concern, now you know that he is my personal servant and you are not to harm him in anyway unless my life is threatened and I really can't see him doing anything like that. If and when he does deserve a punishment, it will come from me and be administered by me and only me, understand?"

Honda sneered at Yugi, then turned to Yami and replied, "Yes, Pharaoh. I understand perfectly."

"Good," replied Yami, glaring coldly at the guard.

"Joey, what happened here?" asked Seto, looking over at the blond still comforting his friend.

Joey was about to answer when Yami walked over and checked out the boy's injuries. Yugi had a large cut just above his right eye which was bleeding badly while his left eye was black and blue. He also had blood coming from another cut that he had on his split lip. Upon further examination, Yami noticed that Yugi had large bruises that covered his entire chest, arms and throat. Yugi kept his head down the entire time thinking that he was in trouble and worried that Pharaoh would be angry at him. Seto looked at Yugi worriedly then turned to Joey.

"What happened, Joey?" Seto asked again

"We were heading to the kitchen and Honda just came around the corner, well Yugi accidentally bumped into him and as Yugi fell he bumped into a table breaking a vase," Joey explained, "I tried to apologize for Yugi but Honda wouldn't listen to me. Then he grabbed Yugi, threw him against the wall and just kept hitting him. I tried to stop him but he just pushed me away."

"That's a lie!" Honda yelled then pointed at Joey, "This worthless slave was talking back to me!"

Joey turned to Honda and yelled back, "I only yelled at you cause of what you were doing to Yugi!"

"That's not true," Honda yelled again then he turned to Yami, "who are you going to believe, me or a slave?"

Yami thought about it for a minute. 'If he had asked me that two days ago I would've immediately sided with him, but since I met Yugi and got to know Joey better, now I'm not so sure anymore. Have I really changed so much in just one day?' Yami turned to look at Yugi and Joey once again. Yugi had tears in his eyes and he was standing next to Joey while he rubbed his back soothingly. Yami looked back at Honda and saw the sneer on his face as he also watched Yugi and Joey. That right there made up Yami's mind.

"I believe Joey," Yami said confidently. Joey and Yugi both looked at Yami with astonished looks.

'I can't believe he sided with me against the captain of the guards.' Joey thought.

'Maybe he is different from all my other masters,' Yugi thought, 'never before have I ever had a Master believing slaves over their own guards.'

"You believe him over me?" Honda asked unbelieving, his jaw dropping open in shock.

"Yes, now get out of my sight." Yami said angrily.

The guard sneered at Yugi and then suddenly charged at the young boy. Yami was beyond furious, he stepped in front of Yugi, while Yugi hid behind Joey frightened, and Honda stopped immediately.

"Your no longer captain of the guards," Yami said angrily, "Guards! Take him to the dungeon and punish him severely."

'Why did Pharaoh protect me?' Yugi wondered 'he stood up to one of his own guards to protect me. No one's ever stood up for me before.'

Yami turned around and his eyes softened, "Are you all right?"

Yugi nodded his head, still not believing what had just happened. He was very confused. Seto and Joey stood there starting at the Pharaoh in shock. They have never seen Yami like this before.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," Yami said and Seto could tell that he was still angry but was trying to calm down, "After we eat breakfast, Seto and I have to go to our meetings."

Yami turned around and started walking back to the kitchen. Seto quickly caught up to him and whispered, "I have never seen you act like that before." Seto admitted.

"It's hard to explain," Yami started, "Whenever I'm around Yugi I get this overwhelming feeling to protect him. I can't stand to see him hurt or upset."

"You sure do care a lot about this boy," Seto replied quietly, "I can see it when you look at him or talk to him. That and the fact that you have never believed a servant over your head guard before."

Yugi and Joey were quietly walking behind them quietly. Yugi just couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. 'Why did he protect me? Why is he being so nice to me?'

Joey was thinking along the same lines as little Yugi was, 'Pharaoh sure has changed since he met Yugi. He really seems to care for Yugi, and I hope that he finally opens up to the Pharaoh.'

The group of four reached the kitchen and saw Ryou doing his usual running around preparing food for everyone. He turned around and bowed slightly toward the Pharaoh and Seto.

"Good morning, Pharaoh." Ryou said politely, "Sit at the table and I will bring your breakfast to you."

Pharaoh nodded at Ryou and sat down. Yugi walked over to help Ryou carry the trays to the table. Ryou turned around to thank the boy, but stopped when he saw the condition that Yugi was in.

"Yugi, what happened?" Ryou asked worriedly. Yugi lowered his head toward the ground. Ryou set the food down and led the small boy to the sink.

'I'll have to ask Joey about this later.' He thought, then he took out a towel and started gently cleaning the cuts on Yugi's face feeling sad every time the small boy winced.

After he was done, he walked back to the counter and handed two trays to Yugi, who carefully carried them to the table, he set one in front of the Pharaoh and the other in front of Seto. Then he sat down when Ryou put his food in front of him and Joey. Yami and Seto talked about things that happening at today's meeting. Ryou looked worriedly at Yugi and wanted to ask Joey what had happened, but he didn't want to ask while Yugi was still here. Ryou could see that he was still upset over what had happened.

"You two are going to accompany us to the meetings that we have today," Yami stated as the group finished up their meals, "I'm going to need someone to talk to."

Seto and Joey laughed, knowing exactly how boring these meeting actually are and Yami can only tolerate the council for short periods of time before he needs a break. Ryou waited until everyone was done eating and only Joey remained in the kitchen.

"Joey, what happened to Yugi?" Ryou asked concerned as he cleared off the table, placing the dishes in the sink.

Joey told Ryou about this mornings events and Ryou couldn't believe it. He was about to ask another question, but just then Seto came back looking for Joey, "Come on, Joey" Seto said, "the meeting is about to start now."

"Okay" Joey replied, then he turned to Ryou, "I'll talk to you later."

"All right," Ryou answered.

Seto waited by the door for Joey to finish talking to Ryou, then started walking down the hall.

"You can't just take off like that Joey," Seto reminded the blond, "I may be your friend but I am still your master and I need to know where you are always, understand?"

Joey lowered his head down, "I'm sorry, it won't happen again. Ryou just wanted to know what happened to Yugi."

"I understand you're all friends, but if you wanted to talk to him all you had to do was tell me first." Seto replied as they continued through the winding hallways to the Throne Room where the meeting was being held.

As he opened the door, Seto could see that he came just in time by the extremely bored look on Yami's face. Seto couldn't help but smile as he approached the bored Pharaoh, but quit immediately when he was answered back with a scowl.

"I wasn't gone that long," Seto replied amazed, "how is it possible to get that bored, that fast?"

Yami said nothing, but he pointed toward the table where the counsel sat. Seto was confused until he looked in the direction that Yami was pointing and understood immediately. An old man was standing delivering a speech in a very dull, monotone voice that made you want to fall asleep which is what Yugi was doing at that moment. Yugi was sitting in his chair leaning to the right, he had his head resting on his propped up arm and his eyes were closed in peaceful slumber.

Seto laughed and said quietly, "I thought the reason you brought him was so he could keep you awake, not the other way around."

Yami smiled as he replied, "I know, I just didn't have the heart to wake him and besides I like watching the councils expressions when they notice he is asleep."

"Pharaoh," asked the old man who paused during his speech, "are you going continue to let this slave disrespect his Pharaoh and sleep while he should be working?"

Yami sighed, 'I should have expected that sooner or later,' Yami thought, then to the council he replied, "Fine, just continue with your speech and hurry up."

Yami then leaned over and gently shook the small boy awake. Yugi looked around sleepily before he saw Yami. Yugi put his head down ashamed that he had fallen asleep and was not paying attention or making sure Pharaoh isn't bored. Yami leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Don't worry about it, your not in trouble. Actually it made me laugh."

Yugi looked at Yami amazed, he couldn't believe what he just heard. 'He's not mad at me,' Yugi thought, 'and he said I made him laugh, this is the most confusing Master I've ever had.' Yugi was unsure how to respond to that, so he decided to go back to watching the boring council. Yami smiled as he heard Yugi's thoughts, but was careful to hide it from Yugi.

After what seem like forever to both Yami and Yugi, the council members said they were almost done. Yami just had to hear from some slave traders then they were finished for the day. While the council called for the first trader, Yami was talking to Seto.

A man with shaggy brown hair and green eyes walked into the Throne Room, he was a very heavyset man with stubby arms and legs. Yugi started whimpering when he noticed who walked in and hid behind Yami's chair. Yami was confused by Yugi's actions, and by the smirk that was on that mans face when he saw Yugi. Yami also noticed that Joey had almost the same look on his face as Yugi, except he stayed in his seat. The man stopped walking when he approached Yami, and bowed down respectfully.

"My Pharaoh," he said with a very raspy voice, "My name is Kento, we don't have enough slaves to finish the palace by the time you requested. I was hoping you would either extend the deadline, or lend us some of your slaves to help out with the work."

"How far back would the deadline be pushed, or how many slaves would you need." Pharaoh asked, he would have someone round up some slaves to do the work, as long as it wasn't Yugi or Joey.

The slave trader thought about it for a minute then replied, "either a month or 75 slaves."

"Fine," Pharaoh replied, then he turned to Seto, "Round up the slaves he requested."

Seto was about to reply when Kento interrupted, "Well there is two less that you have to worry about finding for me. I'll take the two that are up there with you."

Yami was getting angry, "Our personal servants do not have to go with you, not unless we command it."

Kento shook his head, "You're too soft on them Pharaoh," he said calmly as he pointed to Yugi who was still hiding, "especially to the one behind you. If you knew some of the things he has done, you would gladly turn him over to me and never want to see him again." Then he turned to Seto, "You too, Sorcerer. He's not as bad as the little one is, but he's done some things that were pretty close though."

"Those things were forced on us," Joey yelled, "we didn't have a choice."

"Well, in your point of view maybe," Kento replied with a smirk on his face, "Why don't I tell everyone the truth and see what they think, shall we?"

Joey couldn't think of anything to say, he knew that Kento would twist everything around to make them look bad. He didn't care but he knew that to Yugi, it was still a very sensitive subject, one that Joey was sure that Yugi was far from being over yet.

"Enough," Yami yelled, "You may have your slaves but you must get them elsewhere, Seto will show you."

Seto got up and told Joey to stay here until he returned, and for that Joey was very grateful. He didn't want to be near that man longer than he had to, Kento still gave him the creeps and he hasn't been his slave since Joey first met Yugi. Joey glanced over and saw that the Pharaoh was still trying to coax Yugi out from behind his hiding spot. He got up from his spot and walked over to where Yugi was. Joey kneeled down in front of his friend and gave him a hug, Yugi leaned forward into the comforting embrace. Yami was about to ask Joey a question, but the look on his face told him to ask it later.

"Pharaoh, can I please take him back to your room and stay with him?" Joey asked.

Yami nodded his head, "All right, I'll tell Seto where you are when he returns."

Joey stood up and helped Yugi, then he bowed his head in thanks, "Thank you, Pharaoh."

As they were leaving, Yami saw that Yugi was holding on to Joey as if he was a last life line. By the time Seto returned, Yami had finished with the rest of the slave traders. Seto gave Yami a questioning look when he didn't notice Joey in his usual seat.

"One of the slave traders upset Yugi very much, Yugi refused to come out of his hiding spot until Joey went to him," Yami explained, "Joey asked if he could take him to my room and stay with him, and I told him that he could. That trader also seemed to upset Joey as well."

"I noticed that also." Seto replied, "Come on, let's see how they're doing."

"Did that trader get the slaves he requested?" Yami asked suddenly as they left the Throne Room and headed toward Yami's chambers.

"Yea, I got him all the slaves he wanted" Seto confirmed, "I wouldn't have given him any after the way he treated Joey and Yugi. By the way, did you ever find out what he did to them?"

"I was going to ask Joey, but by the way Yugi reacted when he saw that man, I think its better if he's not around when we talk about it." Yami replied

"That makes sense." Seto said, "We can either wait till after Yugi falls asleep, or I can ask Joey when we go into my chambers."

Yami and Seto were surprised when they heard silence on the other side of Yami's room. Yami was about to rush in immediately to see if there was any trouble, but he stopped when Seto touched his shoulder. Yami listened carefully and he could faintly hear Joey's voice from inside the room. Yami opened the door slowly and looked around the room. When his eyes landed on his bed, he saw that Yugi was asleep, still in Joeys embrace, and Joey was whispering soft words to him. Joey looked up when he heard the door open, and carefully moved Yugi so as not to wake him up. He set Yugi back on the bed and covered him up, then he walked to the Pharaoh and Seto with a concerned look on his face.

"Is he gone?" Joey asked quietly but you could hear the anger in his voice.

"Yes, he just left." replied Seto, who was going to ask another question, but Yami interrupted him.

"What was all that about back there?" Yami asked, "why were you and Yugi so afraid of this guy? And what was he talking about?"

Joey sighed and looked back toward the sleeping boy, he looked so small and delicate in the Pharaoh's large bed. Joey then turned to the Pharaoh and answered his questions.

"That was an old Master of Yugi's and mine," Joey started, "actually that was where I first met Yugi. He was a very cruel master, but I heard that Yugi had worse than him. Master used to like to torture us in anyway that he could. He used to start with just beating us with his fists and kicking us, then that turned into whip and chains." Joey had to stop for a minute as unwanted memories returned and he tried to make them go away. After Joey had collected himself enough he continued, "After that he got just plain nasty, he liked to experiment on new ways to cause us pain."

Yami paled after he heard what Joey told him, "what do you mean?" he asked but he wasn't really sure if he wanted to hear the answer or not.

Joey paused again before continuing, "He made us perform sick acts on him and some times even on each other just so he could sit back and get his kicks." Joey turned his head so he wouldn't have to see the look of disgust on Seto's face after he heard what he had been through, he was very surprised and relieved that when he finally looked at Seto he saw no hint of disgust on his face, "and that's why Yugi freaked out so bad when you suggested taking a bath, that was one of his favorite rooms to torture us in, especially Yugi. I don't know why but Master always seemed to pick Yugi out more than anyone else, and it always made me mad that there was nothing I could do to help him. Kento would be so cruel and do anything and everything he wanted with the poor boy. He always came back to the tent with tears in his eyes that he refused to let fall, it was heartbreaking to see him like that and I always wondered what happened to Yugi after I left, I was really worried about him. Then when I was sold to a different master, I realized that all my other masters were really not that bad compared to Kento and what he put me through."

"Is that why Yugi refused to talk to anyone?" Seto asked

"Partly," Joey responded, "it was part that, but the main thing was that throughout Yugi's entire life, everyone around him has told him not to speak."

"If he's never spoken to anyone, how do you know all these stories and how do you know that they're true?" Yami wondered.

"I heard things from the other slave who worked with him, and some of the things I heard by spying on my masters." Joey admitted ashamed, he knew the punishment for spying on your masters at least his former Masters favorite one. He shudders as he relived that memory briefly.

"Has anyone ever heard him speak?" Seto asked thankfully breaking Joey from his mini flashback.

"No one that I know of," answered Joey, "Ryou, Malik and I have known him the longest, but none of us have ever heard his voice."

"Who's Malik?" Yami asked curiously since he's heard Yugi mention that name twice now, "you haven't mentioned him before."

"He's another friend of ours," Joey replied, "he was like the big brother, always protecting Yugi and Ryou."

"I thought you were the big brother?" Seto asked amused, "that's the way you seemed toward Yugi."

"Well, I'm like the second oldest brother," responded Joey, "Yugi was the only one of the group to be born into slavery, so he was taught at a very young age to obey your master and that there was absolutely no talking allowed. The rest of us were caught on the streets at an older age so we were tougher and better at fighting than Yugi was. We became good friends and it was great while it lasted, before we were sold and separated. Malik went first, Master knew that with him gone it would be easier to separate the rest of us. Ryou was sold next, and I was locked in the dungeon so that I couldn't interfere. Then I was sold last. Master decided at the last minute to keep Yugi, he knew that once we were gone that Yugi would be all alone again and make an easy target. I was so happy when I came here and saw Ryou, we easily picked right back up where we left off, unfortunately with Yugi, its like we took two steps back. Especially today after seeing Kento."

"Where was the last place you heard of Malik getting sent to?" Seto asked as a thought came to his mind.

"I don't know," Joey admitted, "Master never told us where anyone went after being sold."

"That's too bad," replied Seto, "maybe we could have found him if you knew where he was sold to."

"That's all right," Joey replied laughing, "Malik always had the uncanny ability to find us where ever we ended up."

"What do you mean?" asked Yami. He didn't look up as he asked he only kept his eyes on the sleeping form laying on his bed.

"I saw him for a very brief minute two years after I was sold. He asked me if I have seen the rest of our friends and I sadly admitted that I have not seen either of them for two years. Malik told me he found Ryou, but was having trouble finding Yugi for some reason and that was the last I saw of him."

"How long was Yugi with Kento?" Yami asked, "he was with a different master when I bought him."

"He must have been with Omoto when you found him, that's Kento's brother," Joey answered, "I think he was with Kento for one year after we were sold then went to another trader before he ended up with Omoto."

Joey quit talking when he heard a sound coming from the Pharaoh's bed. Joey glanced in that direction and saw that Yugi was waking up.

"I'll answer any other questions you have later," Joey whispered, "It's still to painful for Yugi to hear about it or be asked any questions."

Yami and Seto nodded their heads as Joey walked up the Yugi.

"Hey buddy," Joey said soothingly, "are you feeling better?"

Yugi nodded his head a little disoriented.

'where am I?' Yugi thought as he slowly came awake. Not a moment later though the memories from earlier today came back he looked at Joey with questioning eyes.

"Yea, he's gone," Joey answered, knowing what the young boy was asking, "he got what he needed and he left. Your safe here, you don't have to worry."

Yami glanced out the window to see what time it was, "well we missed lunch, how about going at getting some dinner?"

"All right," Joey jumped up and headed for the door, pulling the half-asleep Yugi behind him, "I'm starving."

Seto laughed at his antics, "You're always hungry Joey."

The group left the Pharaoh's chambers and was just about to enter the kitchen, when the new captain of the guards stopped them.

"My Pharaoh," he said as he bowed respectfully, "We have a thief that you must decide a punishment for immediately."

"All right," Yami sighed, "Come on guys, we'll got to the kitchen after this."

As they entered the Throne Room, Yugi gave an involuntary shiver as he remembered who he had just met in here earlier, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw who was inside this time. Joey almost bumped into Yugi, not noticing the younger boy had stopped.

'Is that?' Yugi thought as he saw his big brother standing right in front of him. Yugi didn't even notice that he stopped walking until Joey ran into him.

"What did you stop for Yugi?" Joey asked. Yugi, of course, didn't answer he just pointed straight ahead. Joey looked at where Yugi was pointing and his jaw just dropped open. There standing in the middle of the room was their blond haired friend, Malik, being held by three guards.

"Malik!" Joey called happily. Malik stopped struggling when he heard his name being called. He looked around the Throne Room and he smiled when he saw Yugi and Joey standing there.

"Yugi? Joey?" Malik asked, stunned beyond belief to see his two little brothers, "Wow, this is the last place I would've thought to ever find you."

Before Joey could reply, Yami walked up to the guard, "what is his crime?"

"He stole a loaf of bread." came the guards response.

"I was starving," Malik yelled at the guard, "I haven't eaten anything in two days."

"Guards release him." Yami ordered, "I will pay the vendor twice what the bread was worth."

The entire room was shocked into silence. Never had they heard the Pharaoh go so easy on a slave, a thieving one at that.

"Well," Yami said breaking the silence, "I suggest you come with us then, we were just about to eat dinner. I'm sure your friends would love to visit with you."

'He's letting me see my big brother?' Yugi thought amazed that his Master, The Pharaoh, would permit him to be near his brother. Most Masters were strongly against that kind of thing.

Malik was shocked, 'I always heard that he was a such a cruel Pharaoh, but he must not be to bad if he's going to let me see my brothers.' Malik thoughts were interrupted when he suddenly fell to the ground. He opened his eyes to see Joey sitting on top of him and Yugi on the floor beside him.

Malik had to smile at the dopey grin that covered Joeys face, "Get off me you big dope," Malik said playfully as he pushed Joey off him, he then turned to Yugi, "Did ya miss me?" Yugi nodded his head as tears came to his eyes, Malik was shocked once again when Yugi suddenly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around Malik's neck and crawled into his lap. Malik smiled and happily returned the embrace, "I'll take that as a yes."

"No fair," Joey protested but you could still see the happiness all over his face and sparkling in his eyes, "Malik got a better hello greeting than Ryou and I did."

"Ryou?" Malik looked up quickly, "you mean he's here too?"

"Yea," answered Joey, the goofy smile remaining on his face, "he's in the kitchen preparing the food for everyone."

Yami and Seto just stood aside and let the friends have their moment together. 'They must be very good friends.' Yami thought while watching them interact, he hated to interrupt their time together but he was getting hungry, "Anyone want to eat, follow me." Yami said, then he turned around and headed back toward the kitchen. He smiled when he heard the storming footsteps that chased after him. Yami slowed down his strides till he was walking along side Malik and Yugi, who refused to leave his side.

'Please don't take me from my brother,' Yugi thought as he clung harder to Malik's arm. Yami was saddened when he noticed Yugi cringe as he approached but tried hard not to let it show.

"I can offer you a place here if you want," Yami asked the surprised Malik, "unfortunately you would have to be a servant, but at least its three meals a day and you get to stay with your friends who obviously miss you." Yami pointed to Yugi as he said that comment and Malik smiled at the small boy. Then Malik thought about Yami's offer for a minute, 'I really don't want to be a servant, but then again, I can be with my friends again. I really missed them. I need to talk to Joey and Ryou before I make my decision.'

'Master is going to let Malik stay?' thought Yugi as he peaked around Malik to look at his Master. He was very shocked that his Master would even suggest such a thing, he didn't think much more on the subject as he once again hid behind Malik as he noticed his Master looking at him.

"You don't have to tell me right away," Yami replied, almost as though he could read Malik's mind (An: Only Yami and Seto know about the mind reading thing)

"Thank you Pharaoh," Malik replied, bowing respectfully. Malik was once again bear-hug attacked by Ryou as soon as he walked into the kitchen, knocking him and Yugi down at the same time. Yami and Seto decided to let the friends talk alone, so they gathered their food and headed toward their rooms.

"There's so many things I want to ask you guys," Malik said, "I don't know where to begin. What happened to everyone after we left Kento's?"

Yugi whimpered softly when he heard that name being mentioned again, and hid his face in Malik's shirt. Joey wrapped his arms protectively around the small boy and shook his head telling Malik to change the subject to something else.

Malik thought fast, "I can't believe the Pharaoh actually permitted me to stay here."

"It's different here," Ryou replied looking confused at Joey but knew better than to say anything, "The Pharaoh also has his rules, but their not nearly as strict as any of my former Masters."

"Remember all the fun we used to have after lights out?" Malik asked suddenly trying to liven up the mood a little bit.

"Yea," replied Ryou realizing what Malik was doing and decided to play along."we would make up our own games and rules."

"You seem really happy here, Joey," commented Malik changing the subject once again, "are you happy here? Are they treating you all right?"

"Yea, Malik," Joey admitted, "I am happy here, and Seto treats me like a friend rather than a slave."

"A friend huh?" responded Malik, unconvinced, "no master treats slaves like friends."

"Actually," Ryou added, "The Sorcerer Seto and Pharaoh really do. I'll admit that its only been one day, but since the Pharaoh first met Yugi he has changed drastically."

"Is that true, Yugi?" Malik asked the small boy whose head was gently resting on his shoulder. Yugi looked at Malik and shyly nodded his head. Malik was amazed, "are you happy here, Yugi?"

Yugi thought about it for a minute, and nodded his head again.

"How about you, Ryou," Malik asked the snowy haired boy, "are you happy here also."

"Yea, Malik," Ryou replied, "I am really happy here, I know you don't want to become a servant, but I really hope you accept Pharaoh's invitation, then we can always be together."

"Is that what you two think also?" Malik asked the remaining two. Yugi nodded happily as Joey replied, "Yea, I really hope you'll decide to stay with us."

"I don't get why the Pharaoh is going to let me stay, I thought all master's were against friendships."

"Pharaoh doesn't care," responded Ryou, "as long as your work gets done."

Malik was going to ask another question, when a tall female walked into the kitchen. She glared at everyone in the room like she was better then them.

"Pharaoh wants you to go to his chambers immediately," she sneered at Yugi, "hurry up, Move!"

Yugi got up and after a quick wave, he was out the door. Malik turned to his friends, "what was that about?"

"An unwelcome guest of ours stopped by and it brought back awful memories for Yugi, so Pharaoh is bringing him to his room, until the guy leaves. I thought he already left, but I guess he wasn't done collecting his temporary slaves."

"An unwelcome guest of ours?" Malik asked, "who are you talking about?"

"Kento," replied Joey, "that's why Yugi was crying when you mentioned that name. He was taunting us in the Throne Room earlier and it was too much for Yugi."

"That's why you wanted me to change the subject so fast," Malik realized, "Has he talked to anyone yet?"

"No," Joey admitted sadly, 'but you're the one he opened up to the most so far. I was being serious when I commented on I never got a greeting like you did."

"What happened to you guys after I was sold?" Malik asked sadly, "I tried to find you again, but I didn't have any luck the first year and most of the second. Joey, you were the first one that I found after that."

"Well," Joey began, "basically after you were sold then it was Ryou, and finally me. Kento decided at the last minute that he wanted to keep Yugi, but then sold him the following year to his brother and that's where he was when Pharaoh found him and brought him here."

"I came here right after Kento sold me," said Ryou, "Pharaoh asked me what I could do and I told him cooking, I have been head of this kitchen ever since."

"All my master's after Kento didn't seem that bad, their rules were not nearly as strict," Joey commented, "I had two other masters before Seto found me beaten and bloodied outside the market place. He brought me back here and I have lived here for 3 years now."

"Are you going to stay, Malik?" Ryou and Joey asked in unison and with puppy dog eyes included.

"All right," Malik replied smiling, "let's go and find Pharaoh, and get me a room."

The three friends ran down the hall happily unknowing that someone was watching them from the shadows. 'Soon I will have my favorite little slave again, now that I found you again.' the figure thought evilly, 'you will be mine once again, little Yugi.'


	3. Was it all just a dream?

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Three

Was it all just a dream?

Joey led the way through the winding halls that would bring them to the Pharaoh's chambers. As they passed the Throne Room, they could hear that Kento was still in there and he talking quietly to the Pharaoh. Malik, out of curiosity, peeked his head in to see what they were talking about.

"Thank you for the use of the slaves, Your Highness," Kento said in a gravely voice, "I will bring them back as soon as the work is finished."

"I expect them to be brought back in the same condition they left in." Pharaoh said seriously, "I don't want them beaten or whipped while they are there. If they are being uncooperative, bring them back here immediately and I will deal with it."

"Yes, Pharaoh." replied Kento, bowing respectfully, "I heard you recruited another slave, My Pharaoh, perhaps I could use him temporarily also?"

"No," answered Pharaoh sternly, "besides he hasn't given me an answer yet."

"An answer?" Kento asked and Yami could hear the amusement in his voice , "all you have to do is command it and he has to obey. I think the Pharaoh is going soft."

"Get out of my sight, NOW!," yelled Yami furiously, "otherwise I am taking back all the slaves and hiring a new master over your territory and slaves. And if you come anywhere near my personal servant or any of my other slaves you will be punished severely. Do you understand?"

"I understand, My Pharaoh," replied Kento bowing again, "I will leave now."

Malik and the others scrambled to hide when they saw Kento coming, staying hidden until he turned the corner. They gave each other concerned looks as they came out of their hiding places, all of them thinking the same thing. 'What did Kento have in store for them this time?'

With Joey in the lead they continued their walk to the Pharaoh's chambers, trying to forget what just happened with the Pharaoh and Kento. When they finally reached the door, Joey knocked quietly and waited for Yugi to open the door. When no one came, Joey slowly opened the door and looked around the room for his small friend. He spotted Yugi standing on the balcony with his back to the door.

'Why did Master have to come back,' thought Yugi sadly as he looked at the beautiful sunset from the Pharaoh's high balcony, 'it's a sign. A sign from the God's, they are telling me not to get too comfortable here. That this is going to be a short lived dream.'

Joey and friends walked into the room quietly and stood behind their small friend. Malik noticed the far away expression on Yugi's young face and gently placed his hand on the young boy's shoulder. Yugi jumped at the contact and turned around quickly.

"Sorry Yugi," Malik apologized, "I didn't mean to frighten you."

Yugi nodded and walked back into the Pharaoh's room, with the others following. Yugi sat on his bed, he quickly hid his saddened emotions as he stared quietly at his friends. 'As long as their happy, that's all that matters. After all their my brothers and they deserve to be happy for once in their lives'

Although his friends couldn't see it in his face, he made sure they could see in his eyes how happy he was to have everyone together again and he could see that they felt the exact same way.

"Man I really missed you guys," Malik said voicing what each one of them felt, "I never thought I would see you guys again. I'm glad that you guys are finally happy."

"We would be happier if you stayed with us," Ryou commented and Yugi nodded his agreement both giving him their famous puppy eyes, "I know you don't want to be a servant, but it's really not that bad here."

"Enough with the puppy dog eyes," Malik said looking in the other direction, "I already said I would stay. Man, I hate it when both of you do that."

"They do that because they know that's your biggest weakness," Joey said laughing, "not even you can resist that."

"Shut up," Malik retorted, "you can resist either, I remember some of the things you did because of these two."

By then everyone was laughing.

'I hope this won't end you being a bad dream,' Yugi thought as he listened to his friends laugh and joke as if they didn't have a care in the world, 'I want to stay here with my brother's.'

Then, for the first time since they met, Yugi smiled. His friends were in shock, they had never seen Yugi smile before and they were extremely happy.

They were still laughing over old memories when the Pharaoh found them. He walked in quietly and leaned against the wall, he didn't want to disturb the special moment between the friends, and grinned as he watched them having fun together.

"Remember what these two made you dress up as to get food one day?" Malik said while still laughing

"What do you mean, I thought he looked pretty good as a girl." Ryou replied smiling at the memory of Joey dressed up as a female.

Malik and Ryou laughed even harder as Joey turned a bright red, "Shut up," Joey replied, also laughing, "I can't believe some of the things I let them talk me into."

"Those were some fun times," Ryou replied then he turned to Yugi and grinned, "I'm sure Yugi and I can come up with some more ways of embarrassing you Joey."

"That last idea had to of been Yugi's." Malik commented, he too remembering all the fun they had together.

"What makes you say that?" Ryou asked curiously "it could have been my idea."

"Not this one," Malik replied, "I could tell by the outfit, Yugi has that creative way of putting together the perfect outfit."

Everyone broke out laughing again as Yugi turned his head to the side to hide the fact that he was blushing. Yugi had not felt so relaxed since the last time all of them had been together, and to him, that felt like an eternity ago.

Yami decided to make his presence known, so he moved away from the wall and walked further into the room, "So have you decided whether or not your staying?"

Yugi looked up at the sudden voice and quickly got to his knees in front of the Pharaoh, he bowed his head low keeping his eyes on the ground. Joey and Ryou looked on worriedly and wondered if Yugi would ever realize that he doesn't have to do that here and hopefully will become more comfortable around the Pharaoh. They could tell that he was trying, but all his years of abuse, torture and strict rules are hard to forget so easily.

"Yugi," Pharaoh said softly walking over to the small boy and helping him up, "I told you that you don't have to do that here." Then he turned to Malik, "have you made a decision yet?" he asked his question again.

Malik looked around at all his friends and smiled, "Yea, I'm staying."

Ryou and Joey cheered while Yugi ran up to Malik and gave him a hug, which Malik returned happily. Pharaoh had a smile on his face as he observed the small group of friends.

"So what will I be doing?" Malik asked

"Do you have a special skill, like Ryou and his cooking?" Pharaoh asked as he thought of a job for the blond.

"Malik is a good fighter." Ryou said proudly, "he's saved mine and Yugi's butts many times."

Yugi shuddered at that comment, but Joey just laughed, "Yea, well you two seemed to have a knack for getting in trouble."

Ryou and Yugi both pouted at that comment, which made even the Pharaoh laugh. 'I can't believe how much my life has changed since Yugi came into it. I'm not even the same person I was before. For the first time in my life...I'm actually happy,' Yami smiled at that thought, 'Now I know how Seto feels toward Joey, I finally understand the strong bond those two share. I promise to never let any harm come to you ever again, little Yugi, and I would gladly give up my life to save you.'

"I know what your job will be," Pharaoh replied after a few minutes, "When Marik arrives, he's the new captain of the guards, you will train under him. How does that sound?"

Malik's eyes lit up, "that would be great, Pharaoh. I'll definitely do it."

"Then it's settled," Pharaoh replied, "Joey can show you to your room later. I have a meeting to go too, but you three are welcome to stay here and visit for awhile. I will tell Seto where you are."

"Thank you, Pharaoh." Ryou, Joey and Malik said while bowing to show respect.

The Pharaoh left shutting the door behind him, and the friends just looked at each other not really sure whether or not to believe that they are finally together again. After a few more minutes of silence, Ryou looked at the sun and realized that it was getting late.

"Sorry guy, I have to go," Ryou said apologetically, "I have to finish my work in the kitchen."

"You need some help?" Malik asked. If he was staying, he felt like he should earn his keep. That, and the fact he wanted to catch up with his little brother.

Ryou's eyes lit up at the suggestion, "Yea sure, that would be great," he said happily, "thanks Malik."

Malik smiled in return, then he turned to Joey and Yugi, "I'll see you guys later than," he replied, "Ryou can show me to my room so you two can chat."

"Bye, Malik," Joey said, "see you tomorrow."

Yugi smiled again and nodded his head and gave Malik a hug, which he returned, "Night Yugi."

As soon as the door was shut, Joey pouted, "I'm jealous." he mocked whined turning his head away from Yugi.

'What?' Yugi thought as he quickly turned around and Joey could see the confusion in his sparkling eyes.

"When you first saw me after many years, you flinched when I gave you a hug," Joey explained, "but when you see Malik, you run up to him and almost knock him over giving him a hug. Also, that was the first time we have ever seen you smile."

Yugi studied Joey for a second and thought about what he said, then he saw the humor in Joey's eyes and shrugged his shoulders, turned his head away, and pretended like he didn't care but Joey still saw the smile that was on his face.

Joey laughed at Yugi's antics and sat back down next to his friend. Yugi looked at Joey again and Joey could see the happiness in Yugi's eyes. Joey wrapped an arm around Yugi's shoulder and whispered, "I told you this place wasn't so bad."

Yugi nodded his head in agreement and crawled into Joey's lap unconsciously snuggling into the warm, comforting embrace of his big brother, which made Joey smile at his small friend.

'I've never seen Yugi this happy before,' Joey thought to himself, 'Not like he was when he first met us when he with Kento, he was so alone and scared. I can't believe how quickly he seems to be opening up more in the short time that he's been here, especially now that Malik has returned. He was the one that Yugi and Ryou went to when they were frightened and wanted to be comforted, but they would come to me only when Malik wasn't around. At first I was jealous of the relationship that they had, but at the same time I am happy that Yugi finally found someone he was totally comfortable being around. I just wish he was comfortable enough around us to finally start talking, I wouldn't be surprised if he's never spoken a word his entire life with the way he was raised and how his masters' treated him. We're off to a great start today though, Yugi must be feeling more comfortable around us now, he actually smiled today. It felt great to see that wonderful smile on his face'

Joey came out of his thoughts when he felt something resting on his shoulder, he looked down and smiled. Yugi had fallen asleep in the embrace and his head was resting on Joey's shoulder and his soft breaths were tickling Joey's neck. Joey rubbed his back gently so as not to wake him, while he debated on staying until Pharaoh returned or going back to his room. He really didn't want to leave Yugi alone, but with Kento gone, Yugi should be safe until the Pharaoh came back from his meetings. Joey didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt a hand on his shoulder gently shaking him awake

Pharaoh and Seto walked into the room and smiled at the scene that they saw. Both Yugi and Joey sat on the bed. Joey was holding Yugi tightly on his lap and had his head resting on top of Yugi's, who was resting his on Joey's shoulder. Seto quietly walked over to the pair and gently started shaking Joey's shoulder to wake him.

Joey slowly woke up and rubbed his eyes, he looked outside and saw that the sun had set. He looked down thinking it was Yugi who woke him, but then he smiled again when he saw that Yugi was still asleep, so then he looked up to see who had awakened him. Joey was surprised to see the Pharaoh and Seto smiling down at him.

"Rise and shine Joey," Seto said jokingly, "come on, let's go back to my chambers and go to sleep."

Joey nodded sleepily and gently lifted Yugi off his lap to set him on his bed, but when Joey turned to leave, Yugi started whimpering and his hands where reaching out for the comfort that was now gone. Joey sighed and sat beside his little brother. When Yugi's hands came in contact with him, he stopped whimpering and sleepily crawled into Joey's lap again and fell back asleep quickly.

"Seeing Kento again must have brought up some bad memories," Joey explained to the confused Pharaoh and Seto, "if he was really frightened or upset during the night, he would find one of us and sleep next to them without us even knowing he was there. He never could fall back asleep until he felt completely safe and that was only around us. We would wake up in the morning and there he would be, not that it bothered any of us."

"Did he always come to you first?" Seto asked curiously

"No," Joey replied softly rubbing soothing circles on Yugi's back to comfort him, "it was usually Malik that he went to first, he only came to me when Malik wasn't around."

"You can stay here if you want to," Pharaoh replied smiling, "Yugi doesn't seem to want you to leave, or you can get Malik and bring him here if you want to go to your bed."

"You don't want Malik in here," Joey laughed, "he snores so loud you'll never get to sleep. I'll stay with him if you don't mind Seto."

Seto smiled at Joey, "I don't mind," he replied, "your friend needs you."

"Thanks Seto," Joey said happily while moving toward the head of the bed to get comfortable without waking up Yugi, "thanks Pharaoh."

"That's alright, Joey," said Pharaoh.

Pharaoh bid good night to Seto and Joey then climbed into his own bed, but he couldn't fall asleep as questions and thoughts ran through his head.

"Ya know, Yugi's really lucky to have you Pharaoh." Joey replied, breaking the silence that surrounded them.

"What do you mean?" Pharaoh asked quietly as turned to face the blond.

"For the first time in his life, Yugi is finally happy." Joey responded, "I could see it in his eyes when Malik asked him this afternoon and for the first time since I met him, he actually smiled today."

"Really?" Yami asked surprised, then he replied sadly, "I thought he was still afraid of me."

"Since Yugi usually masks his facial expressions, you have to look into his eyes," Joey explained, "He's just unsure right now because you're probably the most confusing Master he's ever had."

"What do you mean by that?" Yami asked, unsure whether to be offended or amused.

"No offence, My Pharaoh," Joey replied quickly, "its just that you're going against everything Yugi has ever been taught to expect from his masters, you're showing him kindness when he's only known hatred and abuse."

Yami paused for a minute, thinking about what Joey had just said. He wanted to ask him a question but he didn't want to bring up anymore bad memories.

"What was Kento talking about in the Throne Room earlier?" Yami asked, unable to hid his anger and curiosity.

Joey sighed before responding, "He made Yugi perform...acts on him almost every night and he even raped Yugi several times, then when that wasn't good enough, he sold Yugi like a prostitute to all of his friends to pay off debts that he owed. After that Yugi just shut himself down and wouldn't respond to anyone, not even us for awhile. He would start shivering uncontrollably when anyone got to close to him and he really had us worried for a long time. Then to make matters worse, when Kento got really bored, and he made Yugi do the same acts to us that were done to him, sometimes even with an audience watching and it really hurt Yugi. His soul is so fragile, so that just make it shatter. For a long time he thought that we hated him for it, but we knew that it was not his fault and we tried to make sure he understood that also. That's one of the reasons Yugi flinches at any type of physical contact."

"How old is Yugi?" Yami asked suddenly, changing the disturbing subject.

Joey thought about it for a minute, "Well, he was around 11 or 12 when I met him, so he's around 15 or 16 years old. I'm not really sure since no one knows when his birthday is."

Yami was about to ask another question, but Joey started yawning and Yami realize that it was late.

"Get some sleep, Joey," Pharaoh said, "we can talk more tomorrow if you don't mind if I ask anymore questions."

"I don't mind Pharaoh," Joey replied sleepily, "just don't ask Yugi any yet, he was severely traumatized by that and he's still not really over it. Then on top of that Kento had to come back again, and that just caused all those feelings to return." Joey stopped for a few minutes and tightened his grip on the small boy sleeping peacefully in his arms. "I just don't want him to ever be in a situation like that again, and will do anything in my power to prevent it." Then he whispered sadly, "Malik, Ryou and Yugi are all I have. I would die if I lost them."

"I understand completely," Pharaoh said, "I feel the same way about him."

"I can tell that you like him," Joey replied softly, "Just be patient with him, he really is trying. He's having trouble getting past all the horrible things his former Masters had done to him. But you're doing great Pharaoh, just wait a little longer and I'm sure the reward will be well worth it. Good night, Pharaoh," Joey said before falling asleep.

"Good night, Joey" replied Yami.

'I understand exactly how Joey feels for Yugi, for that's how I feel as well.'Yami thought, he was unable to sleep as he thought about what Joey had just told him, 'how could anyone hurt a child such as him? How can you not look upon him and just want to love him? I can't believe how quickly this adorable young boy has worked his way into my heart.' Yami's thoughts were on Yugi as sleep finally overtook him.

The figure on the balcony hid deeper into the shadows after hearing the Pharaoh and Joey talking. 'Don't get to comfortable here little Yugi, for very soon you will be mine again,' he thought evilly, 'I just have to wait till your annoying friends are not around to interfere, then I can start having fun with you again and I'm sure you miss that also.'

The sun was not even over the horizon yet when Seto came into Yami's room. He smiled when he saw that Yugi and Joey were in the same position they were in when he left last night. Not wanting to wake them, Seto quietly walked to the Pharaoh's bed and gently shook him awake.

Yami was awake instantly and sat up but he relaxed when he saw Seto standing by his bed, "What's wrong Seto?" Yami asked sleepily while rubbing his tired eyes.

"Marik has just returned with the group of thieves that we believe are responsible for stealing from the tombs. They are in the Throne Room awaiting your arrival."

Yami woke up immediately upon hearing this and got out of bed, then he quickly got ready and, with a quick glance and Yugi and Joey to make sure they were okay, followed Seto out of his room.

A few hours later Joey awoke and looked around the room confused, 'this isn't my room?' he thought disoriented. Then he looked down and saw Yugi still sleeping in his arms. Carefully, so as not to wake him, Joey picked Yugi up and gently placed him back on the bed. Joey wanted to stay with Yugi until Pharaoh returned but he couldn't ignore his rumbling stomach for too long.

'I'll only be gone for a minute,' Joey thought, 'I'll just get my food and come back here right away.' With that thought, Joey took one more quick glance at Yugi and left the room.

Once the door was shut leaving Yugi alone, a dark figure crept quietly into the room. He walked up to the bed and observed the small boy for a few minutes. When he noticed that Yugi was starting to wake up, he placed his hand on the small boys mouth to cover any noise that the boy made.

Yugi awoke suddenly when he felt the cold and all to familiar touch on his body. Yugi's eyes flew open and he started shivering when his blurry vision cleared to reveal Kento standing before him

"Hello little Yugi," he said in his gravely voice, then when he saw Yugi shaking he pretended to be hurt, "What, your not happy to see me?"

'I knew this was just a dream,' Yugi thought as he looked into the cold eyes of his Master, 'and now the nightmare is about to begin again.'

Yugi didn't respond, he was beyond terrified. He closed his eyes and wished with all his might that this wasn't real, that he would wake up safe in Joey's protective embrace. A hard punch to his stomach made Yugi's eyes open wide with fright, but he shut them again quickly when he saw Kento getting ready to hit him. Tears ran down Yugi's cheeks as his body was getting punched repeatedly, but he tried to struggle when he felt a cloth over is nose and mouth. Yugi's fight didn't last long though.

'Master help.' was Yugi's last thought as he felt his body slipping into unconsciousness.

In the Throne Room, Yami felt a chill run down his spine as he heard Yugi's weak voice in his head. 'Master help'. Yami jumped up from his seat, ignoring the questioning expressions on everyone's faces, and ran toward his chamber with a confused Seto and Marik right behind him.

"Yami what's wrong?" Seto yelled, not knowing why he was chasing after Yami in the first place.

"Yugi needs help," Yami yelled back, "I heard his thought, he was calling to me for help."

"Well then let's get hurry up and help the little guy." Marik replied determinedly, knowing how strongly Yami cared for this boy.

Yami and Seto nodded and ran as fast as they could through the winding hallway the led to Yami's chambers. Yami threw open the door and ran into the room. He looked around frantically searching every corner for the small boy. Yami noted that the normally clean room was completely trashed and he knew that there had been a struggle, eventually, his eyes landed on a scroll that was laying on his bed. He picked it up slowly and he had to fight to control his tears as he saw the bloodstains that covered the scroll. He read the note with shaking hands then silently passed it to Seto, unable to look at it anymore.

"What does it say?" Marik asked worriedly. He had never seen the strong Pharaoh shake so badly before.

"I am taking back what's mine. If you even think of following, I will not hesitate to kill him.', that's what is says." Seto replied as he dropped the scroll to the ground.

"I'll give you one guess on who its from." Yami said between clenched teeth, "Grab as many guards as you can but still leave the palace protected in case he comes back, we're leaving as soon as possible."

"I'm on it Yami," replied Marik as he quickly left the room in search of his guards.

"What about me?" Seto asked, rather annoyed.

"I naturally assumed that you were coming with," Yami said with a smile as they left Yami's chambers to get essential supplies needed for the rescue party, "I wouldn't leave you out of the fun. What about Joey?"

"Joey will be alright here," Seto replied, "I don't want him anywhere near that Kento guy again."

"That's why we need to hurry," Yami explained, "I don't want Yugi near that man any longer than he has too."

"Don't worry Yami," Seto said softly, "we'll get Yugi back and we will deal with Kento, make sure he remembers what happens when you anger the Pharaoh and take what is his."

As they entered the Throne Room, they found Marik talking to his guards and telling them the situation. Yami walked up to him, "Are we ready to go?"

"Yea, all set here." Marik replied

"what about Malik," Seto asked suddenly, "is he coming?"

"I don't know," Marik admitted, "on one hand I should bring him because he's in training, but then again, I could leave him here to protect the palace and his friends."

"It's your decision Marik." Yami replied walking over to make sure they had everything they needed.

The Throne Room doors were thrown open, but Marik wasn't surprised to see Malik, Ryou and Joey come storming into the room.

"Kento has Yugi again, doesn't he?" asked Malik angrily.

"Yes he does," admitted Yami sadly, "but he won't be there much longer."

"I'm coming with you." Malik said in a serious tone.

"We are too" replied Ryou and Joey with as much determination as Malik.

Yami looked at Seto and Marik and stated, "its your call." after that said, he went back to packing for the rescue team.

Seto looked at Joey and saw the determination in his eyes to save his friend. He put his hand on Joey's shoulder, "I wanted to keep you here where you'll be safe," he admitted sadly, "but I do understand your need to help your friend. Alright, you can come."

"Thanks Seto." Joey replied, relieved that he was able to go with.

"I'm in training to become a guard," Malik stated as a fact, "you can't keep me from going."

"You're right I can't keep you from going," Marik admitted defeat, "I just would have felt better if you stayed behind to guard the palace and your friends."

"That would have been a good guilt trip if Joey wasn't already going," Malik stated with a victory smile.

"Oh, yeah," Marik replied in a cocky voice which suddenly make Malik very nervous, "what about Ryou? He's not going."

"Why not?" exclaimed Ryou, crossing his arms in front of his chest

"You can't fight...I've seen you remember?" Malik replied with a smirk

Ryou blushed at the memory that Malik was referring to, "But I want to help Yugi." he replied with a whine.

Malik walked up to him and rubbed his back soothingly, "I know you do Ryou," he said softly, "but Marik is right, you have to stay here."

Ryou reluctantly agreed, while the Pharaoh decided on which guards to take with him and which to leave to guard the palace. After the groups were assembled, Malik gave Ryou a brief hug and quickly went to his place in line beside Marik. Ryou waved sadly as he watched two of his best friends until they disappeared over a sand dune.

'Oh, Yugi,' Ryou thought sadly, 'please be alright and come back to us safely.'

When the rescue group was away from the palace, Malik and Joey took over the lead knowing exactly were to find their lost friend. They all rode in silence but their thoughts were all on the same thing, Yugi. Malik and Joey were really worried for their friend, they knew what kind of person Kento was and it sickened them that Yugi was once again in his possession. They hurried their pace when the camp was finally in sight, trying to get there as soon as they possibly could and were extremely saddened to find out he wasn't there. Yami walked through the deserted campsite looking in every possible place that the small boy could be.

"I was positive that they would be here," Malik said sadly, then he turned to his friend, "Can you think of another place they might have camped?"

Joey thought about it for a second then his face lit up, "Yea, actually I do. It's where I first met Yugi, it was Kento's first camp I believe."

"Do you remember where it was?" Yami asked hopefully.

"Yea, I still do," Joey replied with a shudder, "actually, for many years I have been trying to forget about that place all together. Come on, it's a half a days walk and Kento is either already back at camp or their very close."

The group nodded determinedly as they all got back up on their horses and headed in a different direction, a direction that Joey never thought he would head toward again. Joey was getting worried when he noticed the position of the sun, it was getting awfully late into the afternoon. 'Yugi, please hang on,' Joey thought, 'help is on the way, little brother, and we won't let you down.'

()()()()()

'Where am I?" was Yugi's first thought when he finally regained consciousness.

He instantly came awake when he realize that he was being held in a cold and unloving embrace. He recognized the uncomfortable arms immediately and started to shake. Kento looked down with a smirk when he felt the young boy trembling in his arms and he tightened his hold on the boy.

"I was wondering when you were going to wake up," said the gravely voice, running his slimy hand down the inside of Yugi's thigh, "I wouldn't want you to miss out on the fun after all."

Yugi kept his head down as tears came to his eyes, 'I knew it was too good to be true,' he thought sadly, 'The dream has ended and my nightmare has begun again.' Yugi shivered again as unwanted memories came flooding back to him. He unsuccessfully tried to hide a whimper, but it came out anyway and he received an extremely hard punch to the stomach as a result.

"Looks like you forgot your lessons," Kento grinned evilly, "and I guess you need another one."

'No!' Yugi yelled in his mind, 'Not again.'

Yugi was thrown to the bed harshly and was pinned down before he could even move. Yugi shut his eyes and whimpered again as he felt his arms and legs being tied securely to the bedposts, but he opened them quickly when he heard the 'snap' of the leather whip which was his Masters prized possession.

'Please God, not again.' he thought tearfully.

All other thoughts left his mind quickly when he felt the whip hit is already tender stomach. Yugi clenched his eyes shut tightly and tried his hardest not to cry out, since the punishment would only worsen if he did.

Yugi tried to let his mind wander away from his body, away from the pain as he continued to get whipped taking hits over his entire body.

"I told you that you would be mine again," Kento replied, still striking the boy, "You can't get rid of me that easily and I don't care that you belong to the Pharaoh now. I wasn't joking when I told them that I would kill you if they tried to rescue you."

After awhile, Yugi couldn't even feel the pain anymore, his whole body going completely numb and he was starting to feel extremely weak from the amount of blood that he was losing. Yugi slowly felt his consciousness slip away as the world dissolved around him and he welcomed the darkness that finally crept into his mind and finally fell unconscious again, temporarily away from the pain.

Kento stopped whipping the boy when he noticed that he was unconscious once again. He left him tied up and walked out of the dusty tent. As he looked at the setting sun, he had a smile on his face as he thought about the fun things he was going to do with Yugi when he woke up again.

After hours of riding, Pharaoh slowed down his pace until he was alongside of Joey.

"How much further?" Yami questioned worriedly.

Joey looked up at the sun, it was almost sundown, "Not before nightfall, I'm afraid," Joey replied sadly, "if we don't stop for the night, we should be there in just a few more hours. I just hope Yugi can last that long."

"We have to get in there quietly," Seto reminded them, "the note said that he wouldn't hesitate to kill Yugi the second he sees us and I really don't think that its just an empty threat."

"I can get us in quietly," Joey said confidently, "there's been many times I have sneaked in and out of that place and Kento was never the wiser."

"Why didn't you run away than?" Seto asked confused as to why Joey would stay with such a horrible man.

"I refused to leave without Yugi," Joey replied sadly, "he was too afraid to try and escape because he was terrified of the punishment."

"What was the punishment?" Yami asked quietly

"Kento had a special room," Joey replied, his body starting to shake as his own memories of that room returned to him, "It was a room filled with a variety of torture devices that he loved to use on us. The punishment varied depending on the severity of the crime, but whatever the punishment was it lasted for days and sometimes even weeks."

"My Ra." Yami said softly.

"I agree." commented Seto. He looked at Joey and saw the sad and frightened look in his usually determined brown eyes.

"Don't worry," Seto replied, placing a comforting hand on the blonds shoulder, "we'll get him out of there."

"I know," Joey answered confidently, but then saddened, "I'm just worried about how this is going to affect Yugi. I mean he never fully recovered from what Kento has done to him in the past and I'm afraid of how he will handle this when he is still very unstable emotionally," Joey had to stop for a minute as tears were coming to his eyes, then he continued softly, "This could shatter him completely to where there is no hope of recovering, and that's my biggest fear. Yugi's opened up so much in the short time that he has been with you, it would break my heart to see him shut himself up from us again, when he was finally starting to feel comfortable around people again."

()()()()()

Yugi was awakened abruptly when he felt something hot touch his face and opened his eyes fearfully as he felt a painful welt on his cheek. He closed his eyes tightly and whimpered in pain as the red hot medal touched his skin. Yugi had tears running down his face as he heard Kento sickening laugh as he now moved and placed the hot medal to his thigh. Kento continued to laugh as he placed the hot medal to different places on Yugi's already burnt body and he enjoyed Yugi's cries of pain, and he didn't stop until the boy had once again fallen unconscious due to the pain. Kento put the medal poker away and looked around his room for a new toy to abuse the small boy even more.

Kento smiled evilly when he found what he was looking for and quickly glanced at the still unmoving form on the bed. He picked up his new toy and walked back over to the boys side. He placed the sharpened blade on the boys arm and slowly ran it down the delicate skin, smiling even more as the boy whimpered in pain and woke up suddenly.

Yugi struggled against his bonds as he felt a trail of blood running from the cut that Kento had just made to his cheek, but stopped the second he felt the blade on his inner thigh as the blade was drawn painfully slow down the length of this burnt leg from his thigh down to his ankle. Yugi tried to hold in the tears that were threatening to fall, knowing that it would only anger his Master even more.

'No,' Yugi thought weakly, 'no more please. I can't take anymore.'

When Kento decided to rape the young boy, Yugi eventually started to shut himself down. His young mind was overloaded with the unwanted feelings his body was experiencing, trying to escape from the pain that he was in. He let his mind wander to a fantasy world that he had created long ago to get away when the pain became too unbearable. He felt himself going deeper into his own mind until he no longer heard Kento's sickening laughter or felt the pain his body was in.

Kento started to get annoyed when Yugi no longer responded to the torture he put the boy through. He started to hit and punch and kick the small boy, trying to get him to cry out or respond in anyway. Kento eventually got bored with the lack of response and left the boy, bloody and beaten, while he went to find his most trusted guard.

Yami and Joey both sighed in relief when Kento's camp came into view. The stopped and hid behind a sand dune while they surveyed the camp looking for the best way to get in undetected. Joey led the small group around to the back of the camp and smiled when he noticed Kento still never discovered the small crawl space under the chainlink fence. He pointed it out to the group and one by one they crawled through. Once inside, they followed Joey as he led them to the tent that belonged to Kento but quickly had to hide when they saw him come out.

"That's where we're most likely to find Yugi," Joey said quietly pointing at the large tent, "We have to hurry before Kento comes back."

Yami nodded his head and looked back at the group, "Joey, I want you and Seto to stay here. Marik, Malik and I will go in and get Yugi."

Joey was about to protest but Seto stopped him when he saw the furious look in Yami's eyes.

"Pharaoh's right Joey," Seto admitted sadly, "if we all went in it might cause too much attention and that's exactly what we are trying to avoid."

Joey nodded his head sadly, 'Just hold on little brother,' Joey thought as he watched Pharaoh and the others walked quietly to the tent, 'help is on its way right now.'

Yami looked around the tent carefully to make sure no one was in there before he entered. When he saw the small unmoving body on the bed and quickly walked over to him. Yami saddened as he looked at the boy and saw the condition he was in. Yugi had burn marks on his face, arms and legs. He also had a large cut on his cheek and another one from his thigh to his ankle that was bleeding very badly, and Yami also noticed whip welts over his entire body. He carefully reached out a hand to gently shake the boy awake, but quickly removed it when Yugi started shaking violently. Yami glanced over to his companions and saw that they both had the same expression as he had on his face.

'No more,' Yugi chanted in his mind, 'please, no more.'

"Malik, maybe he'll let you get closer to him." Yami asked, he knew that they had to hurry if they wanted to get out of here before Kento returned.

"I'll try," Malik replied as he slowly approached the frightened boy. He reached out his hand and rested in gently on Yugi's shoulder and was saddened when Yugi flinched away from him also, "He won't let anyone near him but we have to go now." He reached over again and picked up the small boy in his arms. The second he raised Yugi off the bed, his entire body stiffened up and he struggled to get away from the embrace. Malik just tightened his hold on Yugi and carried him out of the tent.

'Dear Ra, not again,' Yugi thought desperately trying to get away even though he knew the punishment was even more severe, 'please let this nightmare end.'

Joey was both happy and sad when he saw his best friend again. Happy that Yugi was finally safe, and sad when he saw how bad Yugi was shaking in Malik's arms. Joey looked at Malik worriedly and Malik confirmed his worst fear, "Yugi shut himself down again," he said sadly, "he won't even let me near him now."

Yami turned quickly and whispered to the small group, "Lets get out of here before they realize that Yugi is missing."

Everyone agreed and made their way back to the hole in the fence. Joey crawled through first and helped pull Yugi through as Malik carefully pushed him. Once they were finally through, they quickly ran over the sand dune. Yami climbed on to his horse and told Malik to hand him Yugi. Yami held the small trembling boy in his arms and waited for the rest to get on their horses also. They were running the animals as fast as they could, trying to put as much distance between them and Kento as possible, but they still heard Kento's angry voice.

"You can't get away from me that easily," Kento screamed, "I'll get him back."

Yami kicked the horse to make him go faster when he heard Kento and his men behind them and he knew that they wouldn't be able to outrun Kento and they would end up in a battle over the small boy. Yami rode up along side Malik and handed him Yugi, "You and Joey take Yugi and keep going, we can't outrun him so we have to stand up and fight."

"Joey can take Yugi," Malik protested, "I am a guard in training and my place is here with you."

"No," Pharaoh said sternly, "I need you to stay with Joey and Yugi, I'm counting on you to protect them and get them to the palace safely."

"You're right, Pharaoh," Malik sighed, "They can't be left unprotected."

Yami watched as Malik and Joey carried Yugi to safety, "Be safe, young one,' he thought, 'I'll be with you once I take care of this trash.' once they were out of sight, he turned around to wait for Kento and his troops to arrive.


	4. Dream or Reality

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Four

Dream or reality

Malik and Joey rode the horses as fast as they could as they raced toward the palace. Malik looked down worriedly at the small boy that was still trembling in his arms and it reminded him of what Yugi was like after Kento had raped him the first time. Yugi shut himself in his own little world and was afraid of any kind of physical contact, not even wanting the comforting embrace of his best friend.

_Maliks flashback_

_Yugi had been missing for three days and his friends were getting extremely worried. Every night after the lights went out, Malik snuck out of bed and searched as much of the camp as he could but so far he had found no trace of his little brother. It wasn't until the next night of Malik's search, that he finally found his small friend. He came across a door hidden under the sand and decided to see where it led him too. He climbed down the ladder into the darkened room, as he reached the bottom step he noticed a light coming from one of the rooms. He looked inside and was horrified to see his little brother chained to the floor and he rushed over to him. Malik almost cried as he looked over Yugi's body. His little brother had been beaten, burned, raped, whipped, and cut all over his small was not a single spot on the slender form that had been left untouched.. Malik worked as fast as he could and picked the locks, when he finally released his brother he was concerned since Yugi was not responding to him at all and didn't even acknowledge that someone was with him._ _He took off his shirt and wrapped it carefully around Yugi's clothesless body and carried him back to their tent where he can take care of his injuries. _

'It took us months to get Yugi to come back to us,' Malik thought sadly as he looked at Yugi once again, 'hopefully it won't take that long this time since Yugi is away from Kento and with a kinder master like Pharaoh.'

'Kind' and 'Pharaoh' those were two words Malik never would have thought to use together in a sentence, we'll atleast not until the Pharaoh had met his little brother. It absolutely stunned the white haired male on just how much the Mighty Pharaoh had changed in such a short amount of time. And to think, it was his sweet little brother who had caused the changed to happen in the first place. Malik was proud of Yugi. Although the boy did not speak, Malik knew that Yugi cared for all of them.

'Just look at how we all met,' Malik thought grimly, 'He tried to save us from punishment, and instead, he took our place. Endured the pain. The suffering, all so that they would be save, 'And at the time, he didn't even know us.'

For one so small to have so much heart, to care so much about people he didn't even know. He did not deserve the life he had endured. Yugi deserved to be loved. Cared for. Protected.

'Now that we're together, we will NOT be separated again.' Malik nodded his head determindly.

Malik stopped his horse. He could feel the blood from Yugi's wounds soaking into his own clothes, and knew they had to take care of his injuries immediately. The white haired male looked around at their surroundings. When he saw that they were far enough away, Malik turned to Joey, motioning for him to stop as well.

"Joey we have to stop for a minute."

"What?" Joey asked nervously. He glanced behind him and was relieved to see that, so far, they were not being followed, "Why?"

"We have to try and control the bleeding from Yugi's wounds." was Malik's response as he took one more look around them.

"Ok," Joey replied, knowing that Malik was right, he could see the blood soaking through his older brother's clothes, "I'll take Yugi while you get down."

Malik carefully handed the blond their little brother, trying to move the small body as gently as they could so as not to aggrivate the poor boys wounds anymore than they already were.

He quickly got down from his horse, both saddened to see their little brothers struggling only increased once he left his elder brothers arms.

"It's ok Yug." Joey tried to calm the younger boy, but Yugi only fought harder, tears running down his face. He tightened his grip slightly, trying to comfort his brother, but that only caused the younger boy to start trembling, his small arms weakly trying to push the blond away

Joey continued to whisper comforting words to the younger boy, while Malik started to rummage around in their bags for anything they could use to help stop the bleeding. Finding nothing, Joey took off his shirt and wrapped it around the cut on Yugi's leg while Malik did the same with his shirt, wrapping it gently around the small boy, to cover him up and try to stop the bleeding on his back from where he received the whipping. When they had tended to his wounds as best they could with their limited supplies, they once again climbed on their horses and headed back toward the palace and safety.

'Hang on just a little longer, Yugi,' Malik thought tightening his grip as Yugi started to struggle, 'We're almost there.'

_Yugi was lifting heavy blocks under the hot Egyptian sun and he fell to the ground in exhaustion. He felt someone grip his arm tightly, forcing him to his feet. Yugi tried to stand but he was so tired that he just fell to the ground again._

"_On your feet you worthless runt," the guard yelled whipping the boy. Yugi struggled to get up, but he was unable to. The guard grabbed his arm and forced him to his feet and dragged him off in the direction of the dungeons as Yugi started to cry and struggle._

()()()()()

Yami looked over at Seto and grinned as Kento and his men came closer.

'I will make him pay for what he has done to Yugi,' Yami thought angrily, 'No one touches what is mine and gets away with it.'

Kento and his troops came to a stop a few feet in front of Yami and his small army. He looked around and was angry when he didn't see his little slave.

"Where is he?" Kento bellowed, "what did you do with my slave?"

"He is no longer your slave," Yami sneered, his crimson eyes narrowing dangerously,"and you will never get your filthy hands on him ever again. I would die before I ever let you near him again."

"Well then, once I take care of you, I'll just go and get my slave back and maybe my other two slaves as well."

"You have to get past us first," Yami challenged, a small smile on his face as he thought about what he would like to do to this man, "I guarrentee that we will not go down without a fight."

As they charged Kento and his guards, Yami turned toward Seto, "Kento is mine."

Seto nodded his head as he charged forward along with his friend. After a very gruesome battle, only Yami, Seto and Kento remained.

Kento was panting for breath as he lay on the ground. He didn't even try to ask for mercy because by the look in Pharaoh's eye, he knew he would receive none.

"This is for Yugi." Yami yelled as he ran his sword through Kento's chest. Although there so many thing he wanted to do to prolong this mans death, make it as painful as he could, Yami was too worried about Yugi. He glared at the pathetic male in front of him before turning to his best friend, his crimson eyes changing from hatred to sadness in a flash,"Let's get back to the palace and see how Yugi is doing."

They rode as fast as they could and reached the palace a few hours after the sun had set. Yami ran through the corridors, dodging slaves who were not fast enough to get out of his way in time. He didn't stop until he reached his chambers. Yami was distraught to see that Yugi still refused to let anyone get near him, not even his older brothers. Yugi just sat on the bed staring off into space. His knees were brought up to his chest and his arms wrapped around them as he slowly rocked back and forth, violet eyes distant and unfocused.

'No more,' Yugi chanted as he rocked himself in a hypnotic trance, 'Please Ra, no more.'

Joey sat on the bed next to him and looked worriedly at his friend. He hated that there was absolutely nothing he could do to help his little brother. Anything they had tried so far, had had no affect. The poor boy just sat there, silently rocking back and forth as tears ran down his face. It broke Joeys heart to see his brother in such a condition.

'You've got to pull through this Yugi,' Joey thought sadly, his brown eyes tearing up, 'We need you.'

'I failed you little brother,' Malik thought. He lowered his head as the his guilt overwhelmed him. He was the oldest brother. It was his responsibility to protect his little brothers, 'I should have stayed by you. Made sure that sadistic bastard was gone from the castle. Made sure you were safe'

Malik looked up when he felt a hand touch his arm, his eyes still shimmering with unshed tears.

"It's not your fault," Ryou whispered gently, knowing the guilt his brother felt. He knew that Malik would take full responsibility for Yugi's disappearance, "It's Kento's. **He **kidnapped Yugi. **He **beat, raped..." Ryou paused as he chocked back a sob at the condition they had brought Yugi back in. The snow haired boy took a deep breath. He looked deep into his brother's eyes, "None of this is your fault and you know that Yugi will tell you the exact same thing when he comes around."

"There's still no change I see." Yami said sadly as entered the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

Malik quickly wiped his eyes, shooting his little brother a greatful smile.

"No," Ryou replied softly, returning his elder brother's smile, "He's been like this since he woke up, he won't even let Malik near him. He shut himself down again. He couldn't handle what Kento did to him. He closed himself off, going into his own little world to deal with the pain."

"Its worse this time," Malik commented sadly, "he never fully recovered from what Kento did to him in the past."

"Isn't there anything we can do to help him?" Yami asked, he hated not being able to do anything but just sit here and watch the small boy who was so frightened, so utterly terrified.

"We tried everything that we can think of," Malik said dejectedly, "Nothing is working, it only seems to make things worse."

With nothing left to do, the group decided to go to bed and try again in the morning. Joey, Malik and Ryou were unwilling to leave their friends side so they decided to stay in the room just incase Yugi needed them and slept on the floor along side Yugi's bed.

_Kento dragged the small boy around the camp then walked over to his tent. He stormed inside, tossing the boy roughly to the ground. Kento smiled in satisfaction when his young slave cried out as a broken bottle on the ground sliced his already bleeding back. _

"_Look's like you need to be taught another lesson little runt." Kento smiled sadistically. Now he could punish the child for making a noise, and he knew the perfect way._

_Yugi shook his head and started whimpering, as Kento came closer to him he kept crawling backwards until his back hit the wall._

Malik was the first to awaken when he heard Yugi whimpering in his sleep. He got up quickly and sat on the side of Yugi's bed. He picked up the small boy who tensed up immediately when he felt arms wrap around him. He started crying and he struggled to get out of the embrace. Malik just held him tighter and whispered comforting words in the small boys ear. The white haired boy sighed sadly when Yugi's struggling only got worse. Malik placed Yugi back on the bed, not wanting to frighten the younger boy more than he already was.

Once he was back on the bed, Yugi sat up and brought his knees to his chest and he started rocking again. He closed his eyes, shivering as he continued rocking. Obvlious to what was happening around him.

"Oh, Yugi," Malik whispered, tears in his violet eyes, "please come back to us soon."

Malik stayed by Yugi's side until he finally quit rocking and fell asleep. Malik was tempted to lay the boy down so he could sleep more comfortably, but knew that Yugi would only wake up again the moment anyone touched him. Malik didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep until he felt small hands push against his chest and he fell off the bed. He looked up and saw Yugi looking at him with a frightened look in his eyes.

"Its okay Yugi," Malik said soothingly, "Its just me, Malik, you're safe now. Kento can never hurt you again."

Yugi didn't respond as he started rocking again, turning his head away, resting it on his arm. Malik sighed again as he stayed on the floor, he looked out the window and saw that the sun was just starting to rise. Malik then looked back at the terrified boy still rocking on the bed. He hated feeling so helpless when his little brother was in so much pain and nothing he was doing was helping.

'He always used to feel so safe around me, would always come to me for comfort when he was afraid,' Malik thought sadly, 'I wish he wouldn't turn away from us when we only want to help him get through this.'

'That sounded like Malik,' Yugi thought he had recognized the voice. He mentally shook his head, 'No, it's just another trick. I'll open my eyes and be back with Master. I couldn't take the pain if this was just another dream. I'll just stay here where its safe. I don't ever want to go back there again.'

Yugi was still rocking, still in his own lost in his own little world when Yami and the others woke up. He still refused to let anyone near him, when they tried, he would start crying and either push them away or struggle to get out of their grip.

Yugi was trapped in a world of nightmares. He didn't see his friends near him, he only saw and heard Kento. He could hear Kento's evil words telling him how worthless and pathetic he was, felt the pain as his Master mercilessly beat him for no reason other than the evil mans own sadistic pleasure. Yugi knew that he shouldn't struggle against his master, but he was so terrified, so afraid that he just didn't care anymore.

Yugi's flashback

_Yugi stood chained up and his feet were dangling a few inches off the ground_. _He cried out when he felt the leather whip strike the back of his legs and he could feel the blood running down his legs. _

"_You pathetic little nobody," Kento sneered, laughing every time he was able to get Yugi to cry out, "The next time you do your work too slow the punishment will be more severe." _

_Yugi whimpered as he felt his clothes being ripped from his small, shivering body and he knew what was coming next. Yugi cried harder as he felt something extremely large push into his body, it felt like his insides were being torn apart. He tried to muffle another scream as Kento increased his speed and pounded harder into his fragile body._

'_Please god no more.' Yugi thought as he felt the male thrust into him once more._

_When Kento was finally done, he left the small boy chained to the wall and left his tent with a smirk on his face. _

'_What else can I do to him?' he thought evilly when an idea came to him, his smile grew bigger, 'this is going to be fun.'_

When Yugi started whimpering, Malik swore softly when he realized that Yugi was trapped in one of his flashbacks, and tried to think quickly of a way to snap him out of it. He knew they had to be careful on how they woke him so they wouldn't frighten him even more than he already was. One idea came to his mind, but he was unsure on how Yugi would react if he tried it. He looked around and saw the worried expressions on his friends faces and smiled sadly.

"Yugi is trapped in another one of his flashbacks, this used to happen a lot when we first met him," Malik explained, "I thought of a way to get him to come out of his trance, but I'm not sure how he's going to react to it."

"What's your idea?" Ryou asked worriedly, willing to try anything to help his distraught friend.

"Unfortunately, the only way to get him out of his trance is to shock his body into reacting," Malik said sadly, "the only problem is, with him being so traumatized, and I don't want to scare him, but we have to make him realize that he is safe and Kento can no longer hurt him."

"Well, what's your idea?" Ryou asked again slightly annoyed that Malik was taking so long to answer.

Malik sighed, "The only thing I can think of to shock him awake is placing him in a tub of cool water, but not ice cold. It worked when I tried it on him once before, but he was not this bad when I did it."

"Well since we really can't think of anything else, we don't have much of a choice." Yami replied sadly, "Ryou can you get the water ready, Malik when everything is ready you can place him in the tub, he might let you get closer to him than the rest of us."

Ryou quickly left the room to get the bath ready for Yugi, as Malik walked over and picked the small boy up. When Malik picked up Yugi, once again, he started struggling and had tears running down his face. It saddened Malik to see his little brother is such a state and desperately hoped that his idea would work. He carried the small boy into the bath house and gently lowered him into the water, but Yugi's struggling only got worse as he remembered what his Master did to him while he bathed. When Malik had Yugi in the water, he sat down by the edge of the tub and held the boy as he waited for Yugi to wake up.

_Yugi opened his eyes as he realize that he was being carried, he started to struggle to get out of the cold embrace. He looked up fearfully and saw where Kento had taken him. He started trembling as memories flooded back to his mind. Kento entered the bath house and set the small boy on the floor._

"_You move and it will only get worse," Kento yelled scaring Yugi even more. Yugi was both scared and relieved when he saw Joey enter the bath house followed by Kento's favorite guard. Joey ran up to Yugi and held him in his arms while he glared at his master. Kento grinned when he saw the glare and ordered both boys to strip. Joey refused which earned him a punch in the stomach as Yugi started crying. _

"_I said NOW!." Kento screamed louder and this time both boys obeyed. _

_When they were both undressed, Kento told Yugi what he wanted him to do and watched with satisfaction when Yugi complied. Yugi had tears in his eyes and he started kissing his way down Joey's body while his lower half rubbed against his best friend, doing exactly as his master asked of him._

'_Please don't hate me Joey,' Yugi thought, he started crying harder at the next step that Kento ordered him to do, 'I'd die if you guys ever left me.' _

_After Kento forced Yugi perform on his best friend, he left the room with a smile on his face and left the two boys in the bath house. Yugi started trembling harder as the memory of what he just did overwhelmed his mentally exhausted mind. He was on the verge of passing out_. _Yugi jumped slightly when he felt arms wrap around his small body, but then he relaxed into the_ _comforting and loving embrace and then finally let unconsciousness overcome him._

After a few minutes, Malik was just about to take Yugi out of the tub and come up with a different idea, when Yugi suddenly stopped struggling and opened his tear filled eyes.

'Where's Master?' Yugi thought as he looked around the room fearfully until he finally saw Malik sitting next to him with his arms wrapped around him. Yugi started crying again and flinched away closing his eyes when Malik tried to touch his shoulder.

"It's okay Yugi," Malik said softly trying to calm the young boy down, "Kento can't hurt you anymore."

'I'm too scared to open my eyes,' Yugi thought as he started rocking again, not listening to what Malik was saying to him, 'I'm afraid that if I do, I'll find out that this is just a dream and I'm really still with Master.'

Malik just sighed and gently lifted the once again struggling boy out of the tub. He needed Joey's help to dry Yugi off as his thrashing only got worse. He set the small boy on the floor and tried to hold him down but that only made it even worse.

"Joey," Malik said trying to hold the small boy still, "I need your help."

Joey came into the bathroom and saw what Malik trying to hold Yugi so he rushed over to help. He gently picked up the small boy and placed him in his lap as Malik dried him off. Once they had the boy dried, changed and his wounds were redressed, Malik picked him up once again and carried him to his bed. He shook his head sadly at the Pharaoh and Yugi started rocking again.

"He opened his eyes for a second and saw me, but he flinched away when I touched his shoulder," Malik replayed what happened, "I don't know what else to do. I have never seen him this bad before."

As Yami got ready to go to his meetings, he made sure that someone was with the boy at all times and he was never to be left alone for any reason. Yami even ended his meeting early, against the wishes of his counsel, to sit with Yugi when his friends had to leave to do their work. He just sat on the edge of Yugi's bed and looked sadly at the small boy, who was still rocking back and forth with tears streaming down his face. Yami tried, unsuccessfully, to get near Yugi but the small hands would just push him away again. When the sun had set again, Yugi's friends returned to the Pharaoh's chambers to sit with their small friend as he still showed no signs of improvement.

It wasn't until the next morning that Yugi was slowly starting to come out of his shell again and started to respond to his friends.

When Malik sat down on the edge of his bed and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder, Yugi felt the comfort that he craved so badly. The comfort that chased away the darkness. He crawled into Malik's lap and wrapped his arms tightly around the others waist, burying his face in Malik's shirt.

Malik smiled and wrapped his arms around the fragile boy when he felt Yugi's tears soaking his shirt, but he didn't care, he just tightened his embrace on Yugi and continued whispering comforting words in his ear.

_Joey picked up his small friend and he left the bathing chambers. Yugi was so exhausted and terrified. He felt someone wrap their arms around him but he was too tired to fight back so he allowed the other person to carry him. Not caring who he was with, or where they were taking him. _

_Joey carried Yugi back into their room and smiled sadly at Malik who was sitting on the floor. Joey walked over to Malik and placed his small friend in Malik's lap. When Yugi felt the warm and comforting arms of his eldest brother that he missed so much, he leaned into the embrace and rested his head on the others shoulder falling into an emotionally exhausted sleep._

They stayed that way until the others woke up. Joey smiled as he walked up to his friend, but quickly frowned, when Yugi still flinched away from him and tightened his grip on Malik.

'No,' Yugi thought tearfully, 'Please don't make me leave Malik. I want my big brother!'

"He's still slowly coming around and will only let me hold him," Malik replied sadly to his other best friend, "He starts shaking if anyone else tries to get to close to him, Ryou and the Pharaoh already tried and he responded the same way to them also."

"Well at least he'll let you near him," Joey said, a little hurt that Yugi was still afraid of him but he was glad that Yugi was at least comfortable around one of them again, "and I guess that's it's a good place as any to start."

Pharaoh excused Malik from his work so he could stay by his friends side until Yugi got better since he would only let Malik hold him. So for the next week, Malik did nothing except sit in the Pharaoh's chambers with Yugi curled up on his lap. By the end of the week, Yugi's friends were getting extremely worried for their small friend since he was showing no more signs of improvement, he still refused to eat anything and would start shaking if anyone other than Malik got to close to him.

Malik tried to get Yugi to respond to Joey and the others, but nothing he did seemed to work and Yugi showed no more signs of fully coming awake. Yugi seemed to only come to for short period of times and never fully awake before just as quickly, going into his trance once more. Malik wanted to stay with Yugi all the time, but he didn't always have a choice, so when he was gone, it was the Pharaoh that sat with Yugi.

The following week, Yami was once again by Yugi's side and was trying to coax the boy out of his fetal position, but Yugi would only start crying and wrap himself tighter into his ball.

_Come here you little slut," Kento yelled, grabbing the small boy and forcing him from his brothers lap. Yugi cried and tried to hold on to Malik, but Kento was too strong for him. He picked up the small boy roughly and carried him back to his tent. When he got inside he threw Yugi on the bed and sat on top of the boy, straddling his hips. Yugi started struggling against his master but he was too weak to move the bigger man. Kento laughed at Yugi's attempts to escape and punched him once to stop his struggling. Yugi stopped at once and looked fearfully at his master, but cringed when he saw the look on his masters face. _

"_I brought a friend over for you to play with," Kento said evilly, "Now I want you to strip and play nice with my friend or you know what will happen." _

_Yugi started trembling again and was too afraid to move which seemed to anger his master even more._

Yami glared at the door when he was interrupted by his counsel.

"My Pharaoh," said an elderly man with a dull, monotone voice, "You can't ignore your duties to sit in here with a emotionally unstable, not to mention worthless slave. You should just sell him away and get a slave more worthy of the Pharaoh and his attention."

Yami looked up angrily and his counsel took a step back, "I would never sell him and if you suggest that again I will be looking for new members for my counsel. And I am not ignoring my duties, its my job to look after my people and this little boy needs my help." Yami yelled at the council, disgusted that they would suggest such a thing.

"_I GAVE YOU AN ORDER SLAVE!" Kento yelled making Yugi tremble even more, "AND WHEN YOUR MASTER GIVES YOU AN ORDER IT SHOULD BE DONE IMMEDIATELY!"_

_Yugi nodded his head sadly and started undressing while his master watched with a sneer on his face. When he was finished, another man entered the tent and Yugi whimpered when he saw who it was. Omoto, Kento's brother, entered the tent and gave Yugi a look that he didn't like. Omoto's eyes had a look of lust in them that Yugi recognized right away. Yugi whimpered as Kento and his brother moved closer to him, he closed his eyes and curled up into a ball trying to shield his body from what the brothers wanted to do to him._

"But Pharaoh," the monotone man started, "he's a nothing slave and not worthy of your time."

Yami was going to yell at his counsel more, when whimpering reached his ears. He glared at his counsel once more before turning his attention back to Yugi who started trembling. He gently put his hand on Yugi's shoulder and was overjoyed when he didn't flinch away this time.

_Since Yugi was expecting pain, he was surprised when he suddenly felt a warm hand touch his shoulder_. _Yugi, not really caring who it was, as long as he felt that comforting presence, moved closer to where the presence was and finally started to feel safe. _

Yami smiled as Yugi stopped crying and moved closer to where he was sitting. The Pharaoh moved his hand to Yugi's back and started rubbing it soothingly trying to keep the young boy calm. He was quite surprised when Yugi suddenly crawled into his lap, wrapping his small arms tightly around his waist like he only did for Malik or his friends.

"Pharaoh.." the councilman started but he shut his mouth immediately when the Pharaoh narrowed his eyes angrily.

"I gave you my answer," Pharaoh said sternly, his crimson eyes blazing furiously at his work being questioned, "Now get out of my sight and never bring that up again."

"Yes, My Pharaoh." the councilman said then quickly left the room. When they were finally alone Yami started thinking about Yugi. He couldn't help but wonder what made the small boy suddenly comfortable being so close to him.

'Does he think that I'm Malik?' Yami wondered to himself and he gently rocked the small boy, 'I hope I don't frighten him more when he realizes who I am.'

_Yugi felt warmth all around him and he felt safer and more loved than he ever has in his entire life. Omoto and Kento seemed to disappear as Yugi snuggled further into the warmth_.

'I finally feel so safe,' Yugi thought snuggling closer to the warmth and comfort that surrounded him, 'please don't let me wake up and find out this is another dream, I couldn't handle it if I was back there again.'

Yami smiled as he heard Yugi's thoughts and tightened his hold on the fragile boy and whispered, "this isn't a dream, little one. You're safe now and no one will ever hurt you again as long as I live."

At first Yugi tensed up as he felt the grip tighten around him, but then he heard the caring words, so he decided to chance it and looked up from his hiding place. He was very surprised to find himself in the Pharaoh's arms, and it was only then that he finally realized where he was and who was really with him.

When Yami felt Yugi move, he looked down and smiled when he saw Yugi's amethyst eyes finally looking at him, "Welcome back, little one," Yami said softly, "You had us worried."

Yugi didn't respond, he just buried his face once again in Yami shirt and tightened his grip around Yami's waist.

'The Pharaoh is where that comforting presence was coming from,' Though Yugi was quite confused, he was still unwilling to let the Pharaoh go, 'I've never felt this safe around anyone...but my friends.'

Ra was directly overhead when when Yugi's friends were finally about to return to the Pharaoh's chambers. As Joey entered the room, he almost dropped the tray in his hands in surprise at the sight before him. Yugi was sitting in Yami's lap. He was no longer shaking. No longer trembling in fear.

Joey walked up to his friend and sat down beside him. He placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder. While Joey was happy that his little brother didn't flinch from his touch, he was still saddened greatly that the smaller boy will would not look at them.

"Has he eaten anything yet?" Joey asked the Pharaoh worriedly, his chocolate colored eyes not leaving his little brother's form.

"No, not yet," Pharaoh replied sadly, but then he smiled, "but Yugi finally seems to have come around, he even looked up at me."

"That's great," Malik replied happily sitting beside Yugi, "when did that happen?"

"After my counsel was here," Yami answered, "they wanted me to sell him and I refused, I must have frightened him when I yelled but then he crawled in my lap."

"That's understandable," Malik said, nodding his head, "Yugi doesn't like raised voices. He would always seek one of us out to comfort him, although I am quite surprised that he chose you."

"Why is that?" Pharaoh replied, not knowing wether or not to be offended by that statement.

"No offence Pharaoh, Its just that he never felt safe around his Masters before," Malik answered, "I'm a little hurt that he still won't look at us, but I'm glad that he finally feels safe around someone again."

When the food was set at the table, Yami gently lifted Yugi off his lap and was about to lay him back on the bed when Yugi whimpered at the sudden loss of warmth. Small arms wrapped tightly around his neck, while the slender legs wound around his waist, refusing to let the Pharaoh go.

'No,' Yugi thought as he tightened his hold on the comforting presence, 'Please don't leave me again. I don't want to be alone.'

Yami just sighed sadly and carried Yugi to the table, setting the small boy in his lap. As the rest of the group sat down to eat they were surprised once again when Yami was finally able to coax Yugi to eat something.

"Yugi," Pharaoh whispered softly, "Please, little one, you need to eat something."

Yugi looked up at the soft voice. He just looked at Yami for a moment before he nodded his head and took a small bite of the food offered.

Joey was a bit jealous that Yugi chose the Pharaoh over him, 'that's not fair,' he thought as he watched Pharaoh trying to coax Yugi to eat more, 'its like Yugi took two steps back from me, and one step closer to the Pharaoh.'

Joey felt ashamed at his selfish thoughts. It should be enough that his little brother was finally coming around. Finally eating again. Finally trusting them. That was the most important thing. Not something petty, like the blonds hurt feelings.

As the days went by Yugi slowly started to come out of his shell again. He would even leave the room, but only with Pharaoh or his friends. He admently refused to leave their side. He wouldn't go back into the Throne Room either since it held too many memories he just wasn't ready to face yet. His friends understood and reassured him that they were here with him and they wouldn't let anyone ever hurt him again. Yugi had even started eating again without having to be coaxed and his brothers' were happy that they were getting their Yugi back.

The friends, having finished their work for they day, decided to spend their free time outdoors. They sat in the peaceful gardens, enjoying the warm and sunny day.

Yugi was sitting on Malik's lap, watching Joey and Ryou as they ran around the breathtaking gardens playing tag.

Joey glanced behind him to see how far back Ryou. The blond smirked when he saw his little brother quite aways behind him. Joey jogged backwards, playfully teasing the snow haired boy. He abruptly turned back around, however, when he heard Malik call out to him in warning, "Joey watch out!"

Unfortunately, Joey was unable to stop in time. He ended up crashing right into a large tree in the center of the gardens. Joey sat up rubbing his head when he heard Ryou's laughter. Looking over he saw his younger brother. Ryou was rolling on the ground, holding his sides. He was laughing so hard, his side hurt.

Joey got off the ground. He opened his mouth, ready to complain as he did not appreciate getting laughed at. The blond paused when he saw Yugi. The small boy was still sitting in Malik's lap, but what surprised the blond was the huge smile he saw on Yugi's face. Yugi's face just lit up, his eyes sparkling. Amused by his friends clumsiness.

Joey walked up to him and kneeled down to his level, "So you think that's funny do ya?" he said playfully and he was even more overjoyed when Yugi crawled off Malik's lap and wrapped his arms around his neck. Yugi looked up at Joey smiling and nodded his head to Joey's question.

"Oh yea," Joey said playfully and laughed when Yugi jumped off his lap and took off running. This time, when they resumed their game, Yugi joined them and ran happily along with his friends.

They were so into their game that they failed to notice that they had an audience watching them. Pharaoh and Seto had come into the gardens when they heard laughter and smiled at the scene in front of them. Joey was chasing Yugi, who had a huge smile on his face, while Malik went after Ryou.

"I'm so glad that Yugi's finally back where he was emotionally before this whole mess with Kento started," Seto said, laughing as Malik and Joey collided and fell to the ground. Yugi and Ryou stopped running and went to help their friends get back up again.

"He's not back where he was," Yami replied, earning him a puzzled look from Seto, "He's even better than before. Yugi's not afraid of me anymore and that's the best feeling in the world."

After helping Malik and Joey up, Yugi looked around when he heard laughter. He smiled when he saw Yami and ran to him. He wrapped his arms around Yami's waist and gave him a hug which Yami happily returned.

Seto smiled at the pair before he was suddenly knocked to the ground by a blonde blur that plowed into him. Joey stood up and smiled down at Seto,

"That's for ignoring me." Joey explained, but he started running when he saw the look in Seto's eyes.

"Oh, Yea," Seto mock growled, "Come back here."

They played for the rest of the afternoon . Yami chased Yugi, Seto chased Joey and Malik chased Ryou. The group was having so much fun that they were saddened when they had to stop and go back inside.

As they were heading back to Yami's chamber, they were stopped by Marik.

"Pharaoh, your presence is needed in the Throne Room," Marik said. At the mention of the Throne Room, Yugi started shivering and hid behind Yami.

"What is it this time?" Yami asked, he put his arm comfortingly around Yugi as he saw him starting to tremble.

"I'm not sure exactly," Marik admitted, shrugging his shoulders, "something about a slave trader wanting to talk to you."

Yami turned to Yugi and kneeled down in front of the boy, "Do you want to go back to the room and wait for me?"

Yugi shook his head and tightened his grip on Yami's waist as Joey walked up to his friend and tried to lead him back to Pharaoh's room, "Come on Yugi, lets go back to Pharaoh's chambers."

Yugi shook his head and struggled away from Joey's grip and ran back to Yami. He wrapped his arms around the Pharaoh again crying into his shirt and refusing to let him go. Yami sighed and wrapped his arms around Yugi, "You want to come with me?"

Yugi kept his face hidden but Yami could see him nod, he picked up the small boy and started heading toward the Throne Room, with his friends following right behind him.

"I didn't think Yugi ever wanted to back to the Throne Room again," Joey whispered to Malik

"I think he's more afraid of being away from Pharaoh," Malik replied, "Haven't you noticed that lately Yugi refuses to leave Pharaoh's side, everywhere Pharaoh is, Yugi is right beside him."

"Yea, I did notice," Joey commented, he wanted to say something else, but they reached the Throne Room so he moved away from Malik and took his seat beside Seto.

Yami took his seat also and waited for Yugi, but he was surprise when Yugi crawled into his lap rather than taking his own seat. The council was about to complain, but a glare from Pharaoh made them shut their mouths quickly. Yami just wrapped his arms around Yugi as the smaller boy rested his head on Pharaoh shoulder.

"Why was I called here?" Pharaoh asked annoyed, "this had better be important."

"My Pharaoh, you have a runaway slave living in the palace." The council informed their Pharaoh.

"And he must be dealt with accordingly," another councilman replied

"Who is this runaway you're talking about?" Pharaoh demanded

"The one named Malik," the council replied, "the one you made a guard in training. His former master is here and he wants him back."

"Malik," Pharaoh said turning to the blond boy, "is it true? Are you a runaway?"

Malik nodded his head sadly and refused to look Pharaoh in the eyes, "Yes, it's true. I only meant to runaway briefly only to find my friends, I never meant to stay permanently."

Omoto walked into the Throne Room with a smug look on his face that only broadened when he saw Yugi again, "Well hello again, little runt."

Yugi whimpered quietly, tightening his grip on Yami, hiding his face.

Omoto smiled when he saw Yugi's reaction, then he turned to the Pharaoh, "I'm surprised you kept him, My Pharaoh," he sneered, "I thought you would've brought him back immediately once you realized how worthless he is."

"Yugi is not going anywhere." Pharaoh said sternly. His crimson eyes narrowing dangerously as he wrapped his arms protectively around the small boy in his lap.

"Fine, keep the runt," Omoto sneered,"just give me back my other slave and then I will leave."

Pharaoh knew that since Malik was a runaway he should be returned to his rightful master, but Yami didn't want the boy to go back to such a cruel master and he could tell by Yugi's grip that he didn't want his best friend to go back either.

"I will pay you twice the amount you paid for him," Pharaoh said suddenly, "how does that sound?"

"That sounds fair, My Pharaoh," Omoto replied as his hand slid into his pocket.

Yugi saw the movement and was suddenly worried for Pharaoh. Pharaoh stood up and set Yugi down on the chair ignoring Yugi's whimper as he called one of his guards. Pharaoh turned his attention from Omoto to tell his guard to fetch the money from the treasury. Yugi continued to watch him, untrusting of his former master. When he saw a glimpse of metal, he knew instantly what it was and he looked worriedly at the Pharaoh. Before anyone knew what was happening, Omoto charged at the Pharaoh with his sword drawn.

Yugi opened his mouth, but nothing came out. 'I have to help my Master.' Yugi thought.

Yugi stared to cry as he watched Omoto continued to get closer. The next time he opened his mouth, he screamed as loud as he could the first thing that came to his mind, "Master Yami!"


	5. I trust his loyalty more than I trust yo

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Five

"I trust his loyalty more than I trust yours."

This line is from my favorite movie. Willow, staring Val Kilmer

Yugi opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

'I have to help Master.' Yugi thought. He stared to cry as he watched Omoto continued to get closer. The next time he opened his mouth, he screamed as loud as he could the first thing that came to his mind, "Master Yami!"

Yami turned around quickly when he heard Yugi's scream. Time seemed to slow down as the Pharaoh watched Omoto charge toward him, his guards rushing to his aid. Yami blinked as he saw a tri-colored blur run past him.

'Pharaoh saved my life," Yugi thought determinedly, as he stood before his Master, 'I have to help save his.'

Yami looked down quickly and was surprised to see Yugi standing between him and Omoto with his arms spread out, putting himself between the danger and his master. Yami saw the determined look on the small boys face as Omoto was getting closer. Yugi closed his eyes and waited for the pain, but when none came, he slowly opened his eyes and saw Malik and Omoto at a stand off with both their swords at each others throats. Yugi backed up in fear and bumped into Pharaoh who was looking at him with concern in his eyes.

"Are you okay, little one?" Yami asked softly

Before Yugi could respond, Omoto pushed past Malik and grabbed Yugi holding the small boy in front of him like a shield.

"Yugi!" Joey yelled trying to rush to his friends aid

"Let him go Now!" Malik demanded. His fists clenching in anger at, once again, being unable to protect his brother when Yugi needed it the most.

Omoto smiled and raised his sword to Yugi's throat, "I don't think so," he sneered, "This is for my brother, you come any closer and I slit the young one's throat."

To prove his point, Omoto ran the blade lightly along Yugi's throat, Yami growled as he heard Yugi whimper and saw a small trail of blood escape from the wound. Omoto smiled at the small boy in his grasp and whispered, "did you miss me?" he asked as he ran his hands down Yugi's side causing him to whimper again and he started struggling to escape.

'Oh, please,'Yugi thought fearfully, 'not again. I can't deal with this again.'

Omoto then looked up to the Pharaoh and grinned, "You're too easy on your slaves, My Pharaoh, you let little Yugi here forget his manners."

"What is it you want?" Yami asked through gritted teeth. He heard Yugi's thoughts and was extremely worried for the small boy but he felt helpless to do anything without further hurting Yugi.

"Revenge for my brother, dear Pharaoh," Omoto said angrily slowly walking toward the exit, "Your little pleasure slave will do for starters, but I will come back and deal with you later."

Yugi started struggling harder as Omoto dragged him toward the exit and he was almost free until Omoto punched the small youth in the stomach and Yugi cried out as he doubled over in pain.

Yami growled again and he felt so helpless as he watched Omoto continue toward the exit, Omoto almost made it to the door when he was suddenly tackled by Marik. He pushed Yugi out of Omoto's grip and struggled with Omoto until additional guards arrived.

Yugi stumbled a few steps before he fell to the ground and Yami was there a second later helping the small boy back to his feet. Marik didn't give Omoto anytime to recover as he and his guards grabbed the old man and dragged him out of the Throne Room toward the dungeons. When Omoto was finally gone, Yami turned around and saw tears coursing down Yugi's face as he reached his arms out to Yami who picked him up immediately.

Yugi snuggled into the warm embrace and wrapped his small arms around Yami's neck as tears continued to fall down his face. Yami rubbed Yugi's back trying to calm down the young boy as he continued to cry into Yami's shoulder. Everyone stood in shocked silence; part because of Omoto's actions and part the fact that Yugi finally spoke.

"You saved my life Yugi," Yami said hugging the small boy who started trembling again in fear of what almost happened, "You don't have to worry anymore, they can't hurt you ever again."

"I'm so proud of you Yugi," Malik said rubbing the small boys back, "You stood up to your fear and saved Pharaoh's life."

Yugi raised his head from Yami's shoulder. He smiled at his friends. Then, closing his eyes, Yugi rested his head back on the Pharaoh's strong shoulder.

The council ignored that fact that the small slave saved their Pharaoh's life. They were furious at the way the Pharaoh pampered the pathetic slave. He let the runt get away with almost anything. This had to stop and it seemed, they were the only one's to do it. Obviously the Sorcerer was of no help as he too coddled his slave. No, if anyone was going to do anything, it had to be them.

"My, Pharaoh," a tall man finally spoke, determinded to put his foot down about the spoiled slave, "That slave of yours should be punished."

"What for?" Yami asked angrily, as he felt Yugi tense up at the mention of being punished. He just tightened his grip around the young boy and said angrily, "He just saved my life."

"He called you by your name and no slave is allowed to do that." the man replied unemotionally.

Seto and the others watched in amazement at the council's accusations, but Joey was the first to speak, "You can't punish him for that, if he wouldn't have yelled the Pharaoh could have been killed."

"That's right," yelled Malik as he to came to his friends aid.

"Silence!" yelled the council, "Pharaoh, you give this little slave too much freedom, if you don't punish him then we will."

Yugi started crying again thinking he was in trouble.

'I called the Pharaoh by his name? But I said Master first, doesn't that count? I only said the first thing that came to my mind.' Yugi started trembling,'I'm really in trouble this time. Not only did I call Master by his name, but I was too weak to protect the Pharaoh. He ended up having to save me. Master was right, I am useles.'

Yami heard Yugi's thoughts and wrapped his arms tighter around the Yugi to reassure him as he thought about what his councilman said, 'he did call me by my name,' Yami thought amazed, 'at the time I never really noticed but I will not punish him for something stupid like that, he just saved my life.'

"This boy shall not to be harmed." Yami said sternly, glaring at his uncaring council members.

"But.." the council tried but Yami cut them off, "if it wasn't for Yugi, I would not be here right now. He should be rewarded, not punished."

"Reward a slave?" the council replied haughtily, "I have never heard of such a thing."

"In the short time that he's been here, he's shown more loyalty toward me than you have your entire stay on my council," Yami said angrily, "and as soon as I find replacements, you're all finished as my council."

"But Pharaoh," they tried again but Yami wasn't in the mood for their pathetic excuses and he cut them off again, "Now get out of my sight before you _really _make me angry."

The council almost tripped over themselves to get away from the Pharaoh's wrath as Yami hid a smile. Yugi, thinking that the council was correct, crawled out of his Masters embrace and lowered his head toward the ground. He got to his knees.

"I sh-should be punished, Master." Yugi whispered, keeping his head down as he was unable to look the Pharaoh directly in his eyes.

Yami turned his head and looked at the small boy, "what for?" he asked confused by Yugi's words.

Yugi shook his head, he knew he shouldn't question his master so he didn't reply. He just kept his eyes down still unable to meet the Pharaoh's gaze.

Luckily Joey answered for him.

"He called you by your name," Joey replied after a moment, "a slave is not allowed to call their master by his name and for that he believes he deserves to be punished."

"Yugi," Pharaoh said smiling, helping the small boy back to his feet, "You saved my life, little one, and there is no way I'm punishing you for that. I was serious when I said you should be rewarded. One for saving my life and two for finally feeling safe and allowing us to hear your sweet voice."

Yami couldn't help but laugh as Yugi turned his head away trying to hide the fact that he was blushing but those close to him could tell he was still frightened.

"Well, let's head back to your chambers Pharaoh," Seto said with a smile on his face, "Look's like we have a party to plan for."

Yugi looked up sharply at Seto's words with a panicked look on his face.

"N-no, Great Sorcerer," Yugi said in almost a whisper finally speaking again, "I could ne-never accept such a k-kindness."

Joey walked over to his friend and lightly bopped him on his shoulder, "Don't you know not to refuse what your master commands of you?"

Yugi looked at Joey very confused and replied softly, 'Wh-what command?'

"It was a polite command," Joey said laughing seeing the confused look on his little brothers face, "but you still shouldn't argue."

"I d-don't deserve such an h-honor," Yugi whispered, lowering his eyes once again, "I am j-just a w-w-worthless slave and haven't done anything that isn't re-required of m-m-me."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked confused by Yugi's words.

"A slave is required to protect their Master no matter what the cost," Joey answered for Yugi once again, "A slave is worthless in comparison with their master. It is one of our jobs as a slave to obey and protect their master and Yugi doesn't believe he did anything special."

Pharaoh saw Yugi shaking and kneeled down in front of him, "I don't understand, little one, you did nothing wrong."

"I was too sc-scared," Yugi whispered dropping to his knees, looking away, "I w-was supposed to p-protect you with my life, and all I d-d-did was cause you more t-trouble by getting myself caught."

Joey looked at his friend sadly, he understood what Yugi meant but he could tell that Pharaoh and Seto were still confused. He turned to Malik and saw that they both were thinking the same thing.

Malik walked over to Yugi and helped him to his feet. He smiled at his little brother, "Come on," he said wrapping his arms around the smaller boys shoulders, "let's get something to eat."

Yugi looked to Pharaoh for approval and once he saw it he left with his friend.

Yami smiled sadly at Yugi, then looked at Joey with confusing in his eyes, "what was Yugi talking about?"

"Well, Master required all his slaves to also be like guards," Joey said slowly, "if Master was in danger, it was our job to protect him with our lives if necessary. We were to stand like a shield between Master and the danger."

"I thought most slaves did that anyway?" Seto asked also confused

"Most would do it just out of love and loyalty for their master," Joey replied, "its another story when your master is cruel to you and then you protect them and they still treat you with the same cruelty or sometimes it gets worse."

"That's happened to both of you, hasn't it." Yami asked, it was more a statement than a question but Joey nodded in response just the same.

"I remember one time I saved Master from a poison dart," Joey replied keeping his eyes on the ground, "and for my reward, Master raped and beat me several times that night."

"Why?" Seto asked confused "You just saved his life."

"He said that I didn't move fast enough," came Joey's quiet reply "and when Yugi saved master, he spent a week chained to the wall in the dungeon getting beaten and whipped the entire time."

Yami and Seto were to shocked to speak. They couldn't believe that a master would reward their slaves with such cruelty.

"Well no matter what Yugi says, he deserves to be rewarded for saving my life," Yami replied suddenly, "Joey run and tell Ryou to start cooking for a feast we are having tonight in Yugi's honor."

"I don't know if that's a good idea, My Pharaoh," Joey told the young ruler, "In Yugi's eyes he did nothing special, he only did what was required of a slave. He doesn't understand, he's still confused by how different you are from his former masters."

"But I want to show him my appreciation for what he did for me today." Yami replied "I was being serious about him showing me more loyalty than my council has during my reign as Pharaoh."

"Well if you want to do something for him, how about just throw a small party with just us there?" Joey suggested instead, "if its just his friends, he might feel more comfortable about excepting the reward."

"Do you think that would work?" Seto asked suddenly

"Yugi doesn't like a lot of attention, it makes him feel very uncomfortable," Joey replied, "As a slave, you're taught to be as inconspicious as possible. If Master didn't see you or forgot about you, he couldn't hurt you."

"Will you tell Ryou of our plans?" Yami asked, "then you and Malik can keep Yugi busy while we get everything set up in my chambers."

"Instead of being inside, why don't we have a picnic in the gardens," Joey suggested, "Yugi loves the gardens."

"Alright," Yami agreed, "You tell Ryou, then entertain Yugi until we are ready."

"Okay Pharaoh." Joey said.

Joey quickly ran from the Throne Room to find his friends. He found Malik and Yugi sitting in the kitchen eating some fruit and he quietly walked up to Ryou. He pulled the white haired boy aside and whispered what happened in the Throne Room and told him of their plans. Ryou agreed immediately and quickly began preparing lunch. Then Joey walked up to Malik and Yugi and joined them at the table.

"Hey guys, why don't we go to Seto's chambers for a while and chat?" He asked them innocently.

"Um, o-okay." Yugi whispered unsure. He got up off his seat and headed out of the kitchen. Malik was about to leave also, but Joey grabbed his wrist stopping him.

"You go on ahead Yugi, well be right behind you." Joey told the small boy as he continued to hold onto Malik's wrist.

"What's up?" Malik asked confused pulling his arm free of Joey's grasp.

"We have to keep Yugi busy while Pharaoh and Seto get set up in the gardens." Joey explained, then he proceeded to fill in the other about what they were planning to do. When he was finished he could see the unsure look on his friends face.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Malik said uncertainly.

"Yea, why?" Joey asked confused

"No Master has ever rewarded a slave before," Malik began trying to explain to the blond in front of him, "Yugi might think that he has to repay Pharaoh for his kindness, and how did Master make him repay him?"

Joey thought about it for a second and Malik watched as the confusion left his face only to be replaced by realization. "It was either with pain or..."

Joey stopped for a second and suddenly had a concerned look on his face as he suddenly remember what their last masters favorite activity was to do especially with Yugi, "Yugi knows by now that Pharaoh would never make him do that."

"I know that," Malik responded, "but Pharaoh isn't like any master any of us have ever had. Yugi is confused enough by this new life and this will only confuse him even more."

"So you think we should cancel our plans?" Joey asked suddenly, worry for his little brother seen clearly in his brown eyes.

"No," Malik replied shaking his head, "just treat it like a regular picnic and nothing else and Yugi will be fine with that."

"Okay," Joey said, "You keep Yugi occupied while I go and tell Pharaoh and Ryou."

Malik agreed and went down the hall that led to Seto's chambers while Joey first went back into the kitchen, then went in search of Pharaoh and Seto. Malik went down the winding hallway and found Yugi sitting on the floor in front of the door and gave him a confused look.

"Yugi, what are you doing sitting out here," Malik asked the smaller boy, "why didn't you just wait inside?"

Yugi looked up started when he heard Malik's voice. He lowered his head once again, "I c-couldn't just go into their r-room," he whispered, "it's not my masters ch-chambers."

Malik shook his head and helped Yugi up off the ground. He then took the small boy's hand and they went into Seto's chambers. He led Yugi to the bed and then sat down next to his friend. Yugi looked slightly afraid for a second before he leaned into Malik and rested his head on his friends shoulder. Malik looked at him and smiled before wrapping his arms around Yugi.

Yugi lifted his head off Malik's shoulder and glanced around the room.

"Wh-where's J-j-Joey?" Yugi stuttered softly when he noticed his blond friends wasn't there.

"He went to tell Seto something." Malik responded. Yugi didn't say anything, he just rested his head on Malik's shoulder once again and sighed contentedly. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Yugi raised his head again.

"I'm g-glad that Master let you stay," Yugi said softly looking up at what he considered his big brother, "I c-couldn't stand it if you had to l-l-leave me again."

Malik smiled at the small boy and tightened his hold on the young boy, "I'm glad too, Yugi. I'd hate to have to leave you guys now that I finally found you again."

Yugi returned the smile and gave his big brother a hug. Malik or Yugi didn't say anything as they sat in a comfortable silence, content in their embrace. It was around dinner time when Joey finally returned to Seto's chambers. He opened the door slowly and smiled at the scene he saw. Yugi was asleep with his head resting on Malik's shoulder, while Malik just sat there and held the smaller boy.

Malik looked up when he noticed Joey.

"Is everything ready?" he asked quietly

Joey nodded his head as he walked up to the pair. He gently shook Yugi's shoulder and was met with sleepy amethyst eyes. Without a word, he picked up the smaller boy and carried him out of the room. Yugi was confused but didn't say anything, he just wrapped his arms around the others neck and rested his head on Joeys shoulder with Malik right behind him.

After a few minutes, Yugi raised his head and looked at Joey, "Wh-where are we going?" he whispered softly

"It's a surprise, Yugi." Joey responded with smile.

When he didn't say anything else, Yugi just shrugged his shoulders and laid his head back down.

'I wonder why he won't tell me,' Yugi thought, 'oh well, if Joey and Malik are going to be there, it must be alright.'

Yugi didn't really care what the surprise was, if his brothers were there he knew he would be safe so it didn't really matter to him one way or the other.

Yami and Seto had everything set up in the garden and were sitting on a bench waiting for the other's to arrive. Seto glanced over to his friend and noticed that he was anxiously watching the gate for the young boys' to show up. He saw the sparkle in his friends eyes when he finally spotted Yugi enter the garden and watched as Yami got up to greet them as they arrived.

Joey set Yugi on the ground and smiled as he ran to Yami and gave him a hug and a huge smile. Yugi looked past Yami and saw what surprise Joey was talking about. He gave Yami a questioning look and Yami just had to laugh.

"We decided to have supper outside in the gardens," Yami explained, "I know this is your favorite spot so I just thought it would be a fun surprise."

Yugi nodded happily before running over to where Ryou was sitting in the grass and sat next to his friend. They ate their lunch in silence and when they were finished Yugi and his friends ran off to play. Yami smiled at he watched them chase each other around laughing and having fun.

Seto glanced between the friends and Yami, he knew the look he saw in Yami's eyes and it made him happy that his best friend finally found his soul mate.

"You really care for Yugi, don't you?" Seto asked with a knowing smile.

Yami looked out at Yugi playing with his friends. Yugi's eyes sparkled and shined making them look like precious jews. You could see deep into his soul through those eyes, and they made him look like an angel.

Yami turned his head toward his friend, "Yea, I do," he replied with a smile, "I know I have not been the best Pharaoh, but ever since I met Yugi, my whole outlook on life has changed for the better."

"I can see the change that its made, I can tell that your finally happy. Yami you found your soul mate." Seto replied knowingly

"That's how I feel," Yami admitted, "but how do I tell him? I don't want to frighten him with all that he's been through. What if he doesn't feel the same?" Yami asked.

"I bet if you talk to his friends, they'll tell you to tell him," Seto replied knowingly, "He does feel the same,"said Seto reassuringly, "I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you."

After playing with his friends till dusk, Yugi and Joey returned to Yami and Seto. Malik and Ryou gathered the dishes and balanced them on the trays. They said goodnight to the remaining group and carried the trays back to the kitchen.

Yami smiled when Yugi crawled into his lap and snuggled closer.

Exhausted from running around, Yugi yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily as he laid his head on Yami's chest. Yami thought he looked adorable when he was sleepy and he rested his head on top of Yugi's. Seto smiled at the pair and motioned for Joey to follow him back to their chambers and leave Yami and Yugi to their loving moment. Yami really wanted to tell Yugi how he felt, but he thought it might be better if he talked to Yugi's friends first. When he noticed that Yugi had fallen asleep, he gently lifted the small boy, so as not to wake him, and carried him back to his chambers. On the way he ran into Joey.

"Joey, I need to talk to you for a second," Yami said to the blond boy, "let me just lay Yugi down first."

Joey nodded his head and followed Yami to his room. Upon entering his room, he went to his bed and carefully placed Yugi on it and covered him up. Yugi whimpered slightly when he noticed that the warmth had left him and he tried to reach out for Yami's arm. Yami sighed and took off his royal robes and laid it beside the boy hoping that it would help Yugi. Yugi felt the fabric and snuggled closer to it content for now thinking that it was Yami beside him. Yami smiled and motioned for Joey to follow him into the hall. Yami joined him into the hall and quietly closed the door.

"Joey," Yami said hesitantly, "I need to ask you a question about Yugi."

"Sure Pharaoh," Joey replied, "What do you want to know."

"I really care about Yugi and I want to tell him how I feel." Yami began

Joey smiled at what Yami had just told him, "That's great Pharaoh, you should tell him. I see the way he looks at you and I know that he feels the same."

"I wanted to talk to you first, I don't want to scare him with all that he's been through." Yami replied

"I know he's still scared but I think that you're the best thing that's ever happened to him," Joey explained, "You're going to make him so happy when you tell him."

"Thanks Joey," Yami replied relieved, "well, I better get back to Yugi before he wakes up. Good night Joey."

"Good night Pharaoh." Joey replied with a smile and headed toward Seto's chamber.

Yami went back into the room. He saw Yugi still asleep with his small hands holding tightly to the robe that Yami had left on the bed. Yami undressed and climbed into his own bed but he couldn't take his eyes off the sleeping angel.

'I'll tell him in the morning.' Yami thought as he drifted off to sleep.

It was still dark out the next time Yami opened his eyes. He looked around his room sleepily trying to figure out what had woken him up. Yami felt something move beside him and he looked down confused. He pulled back the covers slightly and was surprised to see Yugi laying in bed next to him. Yugi was snuggled up to him and he was using Yami's chest for a pillow.

'What is he doing in bed with me?' Yami wondered, smiling at the sleeping angel next to him.

Yami came out of his thoughts when Yugi snuggled closer and tightened his grip around Yami's waist. Yami sighed, savoring this moment he gets to share with Yugi, but he was still curious as to why Yugi was even there to begin with.

'I hope he didn't have another nightmare,' Yami thought suddenly, 'I thought he was over those terrible nightmares.'

A whimper brought Yami out of his thoughts as he immediately turned his attention on Yugi. Yugi's peaceful expression turned into one of fear as he started shaking. Yami gently shook Yugi trying to bring the boy out of his dream, but Yugi only started trembling even more.

"Yugi," Yami said shaking the boy once again, "Yugi, wake up."

Yugi woke up suddenly and looked around the room fearfully. He looked up and noticed that Yami was beside him. Without a word, Yugi sat up and clung to Yami tightly as he started to cry.

"Shh, its okay Yugi," Yami whispered in his ear. He wrapped his arms around Yugi and rubbed his back to comfort Yugi, "You're safe now, I'm here."

Yami continued to hold Yugi until his cries turned into soft hiccups. He lifted his head off Yami's shoulder and he gave Yami a grateful smile.

"Are you feeling better Yugi?" Yami asked him concerned.

Yugi nodded his head and snuggled closer to Yami again. Yami looked into his angelic face and he couldn't wait to tell Yugi how he felt about him. He gently grabbed Yugi's chin and raised his head until they were eye to eye.

Yugi looked up at him confused and Yami smiled at him and he leaned closer to Yugi, when Yugi didn't object, he lightly place his lips on Yugi's in a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he saw that Yugi's eyes were closed. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Yami confused.

"Yugi, I need to tell you something," Yami began hesitantly, "I really care about you a lot and I'm wondering if you feel the same way about me?"

Yugi looked at Yami shocked by the kiss and what he just said. 'Pharaoh cares about me,' Yugi thought to himself as he closed his eyes, replaying the kiss in his mind. 'no one's ever said that to me before.'

Yami heard Yugi's thoughts as he patiently waited for his answer. Yugi opened his eyes and gazed into the Pharaoh's, seeing the love and compassion in his eyes. At first Yugi was confused, he had never had anyone look at him like that before. Yugi rested his head back on Yami's shoulder as he thought about his feelings for the Pharaoh. He looked up at the Pharaoh again and was finally ready to tell him his response. He opened his mouth and replied...


	6. From Light to Darkness

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Six

From light to darkness

Yami heard Yugi's thoughts as he patiently waited for his answer. Yugi opened his eyes and gazed into the Pharaoh's and he saw only love and compassion in his eyes. At first Yugi was confused, he had never had anyone look at him like that before. Yugi rested his head back on Yami's shoulder as he thought about his feelings for the Pharaoh. He looked up at the Pharaoh again and was finally ready to tell him his response.

He opened his mouth and replied, "M-master, I..." Yugi started to whisper but Yami put a finger to the smaller boy's lips, "It's Yami. Please call me by my name." He replied as he softly kissed Yugi's forehead.

"Ya-Yami," Yugi started, feeling strange calling his Master by his name, "I li-like you too." Yugi whispered, blushing but keeping his eyes on Yami the entire time.

Yami smiled and leaned down to gently kiss Yugi's forehead. Yugi smiled and snuggled closer to Yami as they both lay back down. Yugi rests his head on Yami's chest and suddenly yawned.

Yami kissed him once more then whispered, "Good night, my angel."

It was morning when Yami awoke again. He laid in bed contently, brushing the golden bangs away from Yugi's sleeping face gently so as not to wake the small boy. Yami couldn't help but smile as Yugi snuggled closer to him and sighed happily in his sleep. Yami continued gently stroking Yugi's face as he remembered the words that they had spoken to each other last night. They had finally spoken of their love for each other, and was beyond happy that their love was returned.

'You're finally safe Yugi,' Yami thought as he continued to watch Yugi sleep, 'Kento and Omoto are dead and I will do everything in my power to make sure that no one ever hurts you again.'

Yami never wanted this moment to end as he watched Yugi sleep, using his chest for a pillow with his small arms wrapped around him in a loving embrace. His peaceful moment was unfortunately spoiled to quickly for the young Pharaoh, as he heard a knock on his door. Grumbling, Yami gently lifted Yugi's head up and placed it on his pillow as he stood up and turned toward the door. Yami heard Yugi whimper slightly when he no longer felt Yami's presence, but settled down again as he wrapped his arms around Yami's pillow.

"What!" Yami said as he opened the door, glaring at the person who dared interrupt his peaceful moment.

Seto was slightly surprised by the greeting, but answered with a glare of his own, "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. What happened that got you in such a bad mood this early?"

"I woke up in a great mood," Yami replied crossing his arms over his chest, "until you disturbed my peace and quiet."

Seto glanced into the room and was surprised to see Yugi asleep in Yami's bed. He looked back at Yami. "Did something happen last night? Why is Yugi in your bed?"

Yami turned his head and smiled when he saw his angel still asleep. He turned back to Seto, "I told Yugi that I loved him last night." Yami replied with the smile still on his face.

"And?" Seto replied anxiously, "What did he say?"

"He feels the same." Yami answered, then the smile was no longer on his face as he turned serious, "Now, what is so important that you had to disturb me?"

"The council has called a meeting," Seto replied, "they are still going on about how you should punish Yugi or send him away. They think you are being to lenient with him."

"What are they demanding I punish Yugi for now?" Yami asked angrily, trying hard to keep his voice down, so as not to disturb his sleeping angel.

"I think its still about him calling you by name," Seto answered, "I personally think its about the fact that you have changed so much and I don't think they like that very much. Because of Yugi, you're no longer the cold and ruthless Pharaoh you once were and I think it may have ruined some plans that they had." Then as an afterthought, he replied quickly, "But remember this is only my opinion."

"Then lets put a stop to this nonsense immediately," Yami replied as he quietly closed his door. As they walked to the Throne Room, Yami turned to Seto. An extremely serious expression on his face, his crimson eyes showing the absolute truth and of his words, "I trust your opinion more then I will ever trust theirs."

They continued their walk in silence, but right before they entered the Throne Room, Yami turned toward Seto, "When we are in there see if you can pick up on any of their thoughts on what they may be planning."

Seto nodded and they both went inside. Yami took his usual seat and motioned for the council to begin.

"My Pharaoh, we must once again express our concern on how much freedom you are allowing your new slave to have." An elder explained in a disapproving tone, "You are letting him get away with too much and it is sending a bad message to your other slaves. They may see this as an opportunity to either escape or revolt. In order to gain complete control over them you must punish your new slave quickly and severely, fear is the only way to control them."

"And what am I punishing him for?" Yami asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

"The others are not important," The elder man replied, "The main one is when he called your name, and deserves the maximum penalty."

"So in other words you want me to kill him for saving my life?" Yami asked, the anger growing in his voice.

The elders knew they were treading on thin ice, and they had to continue very carefully if they want to make it out of there alive. They have tried everything to try and get rid of Yugi, but all their plans have failed and now they were getting desperate. They didn't like the changes that Yugi made in their Pharaoh, it made them loose control over him and in turn the whole kingdom. The Elders had lots of plans that they wanted to accomplish and they couldn't do that if Yami stays the way he is now. It was amazing to see the change that one small boy had made in the Pharaoh in such a short period of time. He was going softer on the other slaves. He was giving them more freedoms. In their opinion, the kingdom would not last long under that type of command, so they decided to claim it as their own and rule in the Pharaohs place.

The Elder stood up and grabbed a scroll, He unrolled it and started reading, "'The laws strictly state that no slave is allowed to call their masters by their names unless specifically told to do so my their master.' and I know that you didn't specifically give him your permission. So you have a choice here; either punish the slave, or we will tell the people of your favoritism of this worthless slave over their lives."

The Elder retook his seat with a smug look on his face that Yami just glared at in warning. The smug was quickly removed.

"For the law of him calling me by my name, I gave him permission so he shall not be punished for that," Yami stated angrily, "so tell me of any other reasons for his punishment?"

The elders paled slightly that their major plan didn't work so they had to think of another one.

"He is so weak he can't do much for work so he doesn't earn his keep. All he does all day is do a little light cleaning, then he goes and finds his friends and distracts them so their work also suffers. Nothing is getting done on time, and he is always late. He is also extremely clumsy and is constantly breaking things, some of them had been priceless heirlooms."

"Your just making things up as you go along, finding any possible excuse to hurt this boy who has done nothing wrong, " Yami yelled angrily, "it has and always will be up to the master to deal with _his _slaves _his _way."

"B...But My Pharaoh?" An Elder tried to talk but Yami cut him off immediately, "This issue is closed, You are all dismissed."

Yami smirked as he watched the Elders scramble over themselves trying to get out of that room as soon as possible. He then turned to Seto, "now they are just making up excuses to hurt him," Yami told his oldest and most trusted friend, "They are not to be trusted. If Yugi is not with me, I wish him to be with you. If at least one of us is with him, they would not dare hurt him."

"I don't think they would try something that bold," Seto replied, "they know the punishment for disciplining another masters slave, especially the Pharaoh's personal servant."

"You're right," Yami admitted, "but keep your eyes and ears open in case they do try something, I don't trust them and as soon as I find replacements they are banned forever."

()()()()()

Yugi woke up to the warm sun shining in his face. He sighed in contentment, snuggling deeper into the covers trying to find the warmth that surrounded him last night. Not finding it, he slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room confused when he noticed that his Pharaoh was not with him anymore. He was saddened when he realized that Yami wasn't even in the room, then he noticed that it was early afternoon and that he had slept the morning away. He slowly got out of the warm bed and got himself ready for the day.

Yugi opened the door and made his way down the winding hallways towards the kitchen to get Yami's lunch ready for when he returned to the room. Upon entering the kitchen he noticed Joey sitting at the table while Ryou was running around the kitchen getting everyones meal ready.

"Morning Joey." Yugi whispered softly, still not used to talking, "Morning Ryou."

"Morning?" Joey replied with a smile.

"It's more like afternoon." Ryou said with a grin, as he left his place at the counter and slowly made his way over to his friends. He studied Yugi closer and noticed something different about his small friend.

"Did something happen last night?" Ryou questioned suddenly

Yugi blushed slightly and lowered his head as he nodded to his friend, "Ya-Yami told me he l-loved me last night."

"And?" Ryou asked curiously even though he already guessed the answer.

"I to-told him that I felt the s-s-same." Yugi whispered. He was caught off guard when both his friends held him in a tight embrace.

"We are so happy for you Yugi," Joey replied, "now you know how I feel when I am with Seto. I told you it would be different here. I am so glad that you finally found the happiness that you deserve."

Yugi nodded at him and returned the embrace, resting his head on Joey's shoulder.

()()()()()

After yelling at his advisers and watching them scurry quickly out of the Throne room, Yami was impatiently hurrying to get back to his chambers.

The group of old men had left him in a bad mood and only thoughts of his little Yugi made a small smile slowly come to his face, allowing him to finally start to calm down. He hurried his pace, not wanting to be away from the small boy any longer. He still felt uneasy and he knew that his council would not hesitate to harm the boy if neither he nor Seto was around to protect him.

'I must make sure that he is kept safe,' Yami thought as he quickened his pace, 'I don't trust my fathers council and I can't wait until they can finally be replaced.'

Yami sighed in relief when he finally reached his room and quickly opened the door. He looked around the large room but he didn't see the small boy anywhere.

'What if someone broke in and kidnapped him again?' Yami thought as he frantically looked around the room, checking in every possible place where the boy could be hiding. 'If the council had anything to do with this they will meet the pain of a thousand deaths.'

Yami was starting to get worried and his thoughts were turning more violent when his search turned up empty and without any clues on the boys whereabouts.

()()()()()

Yugi sat in the kitchen happily talking with his friends while Ryou finished making everyones lunch. They talked about old times when they were free and had fun (well as free as you can be while you're on the run from slave catchers)

Joey and Ryou were careful to avoid the parts that were too painful to talk about, or that they knew would upset the younger boy. The three of them tried to remember only the happy times when they were together, not the painful ones when they are all separated and alone.

When the meals were prepared, Yugi helped Ryou set up the trays. He grabbed the one for the Pharaoh and gave an awkward wave as he carried the tray out of the kitchen. He slowly walked down the winding hallways and staircases until he was once again in front of Yami's chambers.

He knocked timidly and waited for Yami to answer the door. Yugi jumped back slightly when the door was flung open violently and the Pharaoh was glaring at whoever happened to disturb him. His face immediately changed from anger to worry when he noticed who was at his door.

"Yugi where were you?" Yami asked. He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice as images of what could've happened to the boy flooded his mind.

Yugi bowed his head thinking that he was in trouble, "I-I-I was getting your l-lunch for you, M-Milord." Yugi stuttered softly, "I o-overslept and when I w-woke, you were gone. I-I-I'm sorry, it will never ha-happen again."

Yugi closed his eyes fearfully got onto his knees expecting to be punished for not being in the room when the his Pharaoh had returned, and having left the Pharaoh's chambers without permission. His years as a slave coming back to haunt him. Even though they had admitted their love for each other; he was still just a slave, and Yami was still the Pharaoh and his master and should always be treated as such.

Yami's heart clenched as he saw his little love cowering on the ground and he hated himself for causing the reaction in the first place. He was just so worried about the boy that his voice came out harsher than he had intended. He reached out a hand and gently placed it on the younger boys shoulder. He kneeled down in front of the boy.

"I'm sorry Yugi," Yami said as he embraced the younger boy in a warm hug, "I was just so worried that something had happened to you."

Yugi returned the embrace and rested his head on his Pharaoh's shoulder.

Yugi pushed away after a few minutes and grabbed the tray that was by his side as he and the Pharaoh stood back up. Yami led Yugi back into the room and they sat at the table and began to eat their lunch.

"You never answered my question, little one?" Yami asked suddenly but with only curiosity in his voice, "where were you earlier."

Yugi lowered his head and stared at the table as he answered, "I was in the kitchens h-helping Ryou with lunch and talking with him and J-Joey."

Yami nodded his head at the answer, "After lunch I want you to go and see Seto until I return for my meetings, alright?"

"Wh-why Master...um, I mean Y-Yami?" Yugi asked instantly correcting his mistake when he saw the expression on his Masters face.

'That's right, he doesn't like being called Master.' Yugi silently reminded himself.

"He said he needed some help," Yami replied ignoring the slip up and not wanting to scare the boy by telling him the real reason, "besides, the meeting will be very boring for you and you'd have more fun with Seto and Joey."

Yugi's face lit up at the mention of his 'big brother' and he nodded his head, "O-Okay Yami."

After finishing their lunches and taking the trays back to the kitchen, Yami and Yugi made their way to Seto's chambers. Yami knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer.

"Hello Pharaoh," Joey replied, "What brings you guys here?"

"Is Seto around?" Yami asked ignoring the question

"He'll be back in a second, he went to the temple to get something." Joey replied

Yami debated on weather or not he should wait for Seto to return but he didn't have the time. He turned to Yugi, "Yugi why don't you wait inside while I talk to Joey for a second."

Yugi nodded and entered the chambers while Joey waited patiently to see what Pharaoh wanted to tell him.

"Joey," Yami started after he shut the door, "The council has threatened Yugi's life and I am worried that they may try something. I would rather him not be alone, so I was wondering if you kept an eye on him and don't let him out of your sight."

Joey was shocked to hear that someone was after Yugi, "Of course I'll watch him," Joey replied, "I won't let those creeps anywhere near my little brother."

"I know you'll protect him," Yami said with a smile, "Seto already knows about it, he was with me when the council made their threats. Don't tell Yugi about any of this, I don't want to scare him. Take good care of him."

Joey nodded and turned to enter the room as Yami went to the Throne Room to attend his meetings.

'At least now I know that Yugi will be safe,' Yami thought 'Joey will do everything in his power to protect my little one.'

A figure was lurking in the shadows, 'Your feeble attempts to protect the boy will not stop me,' the figure thought with an evil grin, 'and once I have him, I will be rich and then I will go after my real prize. The Throne.'

()()()()()

As Yami sat in his meetings, he couldn't stop worrying about Yugi. He only half listened to the old men drone on about useless things.

'I hope that Yugi is alright,' Yami thought as he sighed for the millionth time, 'I feel like I never should've left him, not even with Joey and Seto.'

The feeling of dread was getting stronger, and Yami couldn't ignore it any longer. He ended his meeting immediately, ignoring his council protests.

Yami ignored them and ran out of the Throne Room and headed right to Seto's chambers. He entered the room without knocking and was startled by what he saw. The room was in total chaos as things were tipped over and thrown around the room. Yami got really worried when he saw that neither Joey nor Yugi was anywhere in the room.

Yami heard a gasp beside him and quickly turned to see Seto standing beside him.

"Please tell me that Yugi and Joey were with you?" Yami asked, worry evident in his voice.

Seto shook his head in the negative, "I haven't seen either of them since before lunch."

The pair searched the entire room but came up with no clues as to who had taken the boys.

"I just know the council is behind this," Yami said with venom in his voice, "but why would they take Joey as well?"

"Maybe it was the only way they could get Yugi," Seto replied, "I know Joey, he wouldn't give up Yugi without a fight."

()()()()()

'Where am I?' Joey thought as his consciousness was slowly coming back to him, 'what the heck happened?'

As he became more awake, Joey realized he was laying on something hard and cold. Without opening his eyes, Joey felt around where he was laying to try and figure out where he was.

Joey opened his eyes and at first thought he was blind. He couldn't see anything. After a quick check to his face to make sure nothing was covering his eyes, he glanced around the small room and saw a small sliver of light coming from the far corner. He crawled along the floor feeling his way around until he felt metal bars in front of him. He ran his hands along the bars and realized he was in a cell.

'The last thing I remember is opening the door to our chambers.' Joey continued to try to think of what had happened.

A quiet moan brought Joey out of his thoughts and he suddenly paled when the rest of what happened came rushing back to him. He looked around the small room as best he could and his heart stopped when he saw an unmoving figure in the cell next to his.

"Yugi?" Joey called softly, not wanting to attract the attention of the one who kidnapped them.

Joey grew more concerned when Yugi didn't answer his call. He stood up as best he could in the small cramped space to try and see Yugi better, but what he saw didn't alleviate any of his fears. Yugi's face was turned away from him, but even in the dim light Joey could see the colorful bruises that decorated the younger boys barely clothed body. He also noticed the small puddle of blood under where Yugi lay. His arm was at an unnatural angle and Joey could tell that it was broken. From what Joey could tell the blood on the ground was coming from the many gashes on Yugi's back. His shirt was practically gone, ripped to shreds by whatever was used on him, causing Yugi to shiver from the dampness of the cell. Joey's anger continued to rise the more he saw of the condition his little brother was in.

Joey was about to call out to the younger boy again when he heard footsteps in the dimly lit hallway. Joey quickly crawled back to his original spot and pretended to be unconscious. He heard keys jingling and a heavy metal door creaking open. Joey cracked open one eye and watched as the kidnapper approached the cell doors. He stayed silent as the male made his way first toward his cell, then over to Yugi's.

Joey once again heard keys jingling as their attacker opened the door to the cell his young friend was in. The male stomped over and none too gently picked up Yugi and roughly threw him over his shoulder. The unknown man glanced over to where Joey was laying and an evil smile crossed his face when he realized neither boy was awake yet. Joey didn't reopen his eyes until he heard the footsteps fading down the hall. He glanced sadly at the cell beside his and wished desperately for a miracle to save them both.

'Hang in there Yug,' Joey thought as he lay there listening to the footsteps get further away, 'be strong little brother, I'll find a way to get us out of here. I promise.'

()()()()()

Bakura couldn't keep the smirk off his face as he thought about the riches he was about to receive and the torture these two boy's were going to endure once he got his treasure. Then he was going after the Pharaoh.

'I will have fun torturing the small one,' Bakura thought evilly as he turned his head slightly and glanced at the young boy over his shoulder, 'he seems to be the Pharaoh's favorite little toy. Let's see how Pharaoh deals with what I have planned for the small one.'

He carried Yugi until he reached his favorite room. He entered and threw the small boy down on the blood covered wooden table and proceeded to tie down his arms and legs with the thick leather straps. When he was finished, Bakura walked to the wall and looked over his selection while he decided which of his toys he was going to use first. He decided on his whip. A present from a fellow thief in exchange for saving his life unintentionally as the idiot was dumb enough to get caught by the Pharaoh's guards. It was long and slender with nails and bits of glass and metal woven within the leather straps, making it almost lethal. As he approached the boy, he saw that the youngers eyes were finally open and he could see the fear in his large amethyst eyes.

Yugi awoke to a painful ringing in his head and it felt like his whole back was on fire. He slowly opened his eyes and quickly realized that he couldn't move his body. He glanced down at his arms and was terrified when he noticed that he was strapped down, same thing when he glanced at his legs.

'Where am I?' thought Yugi as he tried to get a better look around the room. His eyes widened and he started whimpering when he saw Bakura standing in front of him with a whip in his hands.

"Yes, this is definitely going to be fun." Bakura laughed as the fear grew in his captives eyes when he saw what Bakura was holding. "You are mine now, little one, I will enjoy teaching you your place. Then, when I am finished with you, I will have a little fun with the blond."

'That's right,' Yugi thought suddenly, 'Joey was with me, Bakura must have grabbed him when I was taken.'

Yugi tried to be brave like his big brothers were, not wanting to give Bakura the satisfaction of hearing him cry out. Unfortunately, over the next few hours, it became unbearable and the hallways were filled with his cries of pain as Yugi was beaten. He tried to be strong but he was fighting a losing battle. A few more strikes of the whip and Yugi knew no more. He was grateful when the darkness clouded his vision and he welcomed it as he drifted into the bliss of unconsciousness.

'Please be ok, Joey,' Yugi's last thought was of Joey, his brother, was trapped somewhere in this awful place and it was all his fault. 'I'm sorry for dragging you into this. Please forgive me.'

()()()()()

Once the footsteps were far enough away, Joey sighed sadly and crawled over to the corner of his cell. He brought his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees.

'How are we going to get out of this one?' Joey thought as he looked around the cell.

Joey was surprised when he felt cool air coming from somewhere behind him, blowing on the back of his neck. He turned around and ran his hand along the wall, he was rewarded when he could feel a draft coming through the bricks. He quickly proceeded to search his pockets for anything he could use and was disappointed when he found nothing to aid him in an escape attempt.

'Damn,' thought Joey as he patted down his pockets once more making sure he didn't miss anything, 'I was hoping the bastard wouldn't have checked our pockets before he threw us in here, I guess he's smarter than I want to give him credit for.'

()()()()()

The Pharaoh paced nervously in his chambers as he and Seto tried to think of where to start looking for their lost loves. This was different from the last time Yugi was taken since there is no note telling them who took him, and now it was worse since Joey was also taken this time.

'At least Yugi isn't alone this time,' Yami thought with very little comfort, 'he has Joey with him. Now we just have to find them before anything happens to them.'

"Yami quit pacing," Seto said exasperated, breaking Yami from his thoughts, "that is not going to bring us any closer to finding them, your just giving me a headache watching you."

"We can't just stand here and do nothing," Yami replied angrily, "who knows what is happening to them right now."

"Well, your pacing isn't helping much either." Seto answered trying to calm the young Pharaoh down, "I'll bet the council is behind this but without proof we can't charge them, and we have no idea where Joey and Yugi might be."

Yami sighed and sat on his bed, "You're right Seto, I just can't help but worry about them."

Seto sat on the bed beside his friend, "Don't worry Yami, we will find them and make whoever took them pay dearly. That I promise."

"It has to be the council that is behind this," Yami agreed, "They were so angry that I refused to punish Yugi, and they are looking for any excuse to take over the throne. Send scouts throughout the land and see if maybe my people have seen or know something."

"I'll send someone right away," Seto replied, "it's a good start, maybe the people saw something yesterday. They noticed the change in you and I think they would be more than happy to help you in your search."

Seto got up from his place next to Yami and went in search of Marik and Malik, knowing the two would be together. After a while of searching, Seto finally found the pair training in the gardens. He approached them slowly, knowing how Malik was going to react the his two 'little brothers' missing.

"Hey Seto," Marik said as he noticed the High Priest. He and Malik both approached him, but Malik stopped when he noticed Seto's expression.

"What's wrong?" Malik asked nervously. He got a bad feeling when he saw the saddened, worried look on the Socerers face.

"Yugi and Joey are missing," Seto replied sadly, "They were taken from my chambers. Yami sent Yugi to sit with Joey after lunch because the council was threatening Yugi. We noticed they were missing when Yami cut the council meeting short. Unfortunately we have no idea where they are or who took them. Yami wants you two to send scouts throughout the land and ask the people if they saw anything or knows anything about their whereabouts."

"We'll get on it right away," Malik replied without a pause as he quickly turned around and started running toward the palace.

Marik was about to follow, but before he turned around, he put a comforting hand on Seto's shoulder and said softly, "Don't worry, we'll find them." Then he turned around and followed Malik.

Seto stayed outside for a few more minutes thinking on how only yesterday they were all happy and without a worry in the world.

'Please be safe,' Seto thought sadly, 'both of you, please just be all right.'

()()()()()

It seemed as though many hours had past before Joey once again heard footsteps coming down the corridor, Joey waited patiently (since there was nothing else he could really do) for Bakura to bring Yugi back. He was greatly saddened when he saw Bakura but no Yugi.

"What have you done with him you bastard?" Joey yelled as Bakura approached his cell "where is he?"

"That is none of your concern." Bakura replied with a smirk, "I'd be more worried about yourself, if I were you."

Bakura took out his keys and proceeded to unlock the door to Joey's cell. He quickly overpowered the younger boy before Joey could even think of escaping. The next thing Joey knew, he had chains on his wrist and ankles and Bakura was dragging him from his cell.

Joey fought the entire way as Bakura pulled him down the hallway to a room with a solid oak door. He opened the door with one hand, and with the other shoved Joey into another dimly lit room. Joey stumbled and caught himself just in time before he fell onto the hard concrete floor. He didn't have time to recover before Bakura was once again pushing him this time toward a table. Joey continued to fight as best he could with his hand and feet bound, but he didn't stand a chance against the older boy and he was suddenly thrown carelessly on the hard surface knocking the wind out of him.

"Where's Yugi?" Joey shouted once again, trying to be brave and cover up how nervous and frightened he really was.

'I have to get through this' Joey thought courageously, 'I have to stay strong, for Yugi and for myself.'

"Don't worry," Bakura said in a mock caring voice, "he is still alive."

Bakura paused at Joey's sigh of relief, "For now anyway." He added and laughed as all the color drained from the blonde's face. "It's much too early in the game to kill you both now. I want to have some fun with the Pharaoh first."

Bakura spat the word 'Pharaoh' as if were the most vile thing he could say.

"Tell me where is NOW you bastard!" Joey yelled trying in vain to free himself from the tough leather bands.

"My, my such language." Replied Bakura with a mock offended voice, "what would your parents say if they heard you talking like that?"

Joey didn't want to give Bakura the satisfaction of an answer, so his only reply was to struggle harder.

"Don't worry," Bakura spoke again as he walks toward the corner of the room. It was too dark for Joey to see what he was doing, but he knew it wouldn't be good for him whatever it was. "Rather than tell you what I did to the young boy, how about I show you instead?"

Joey grew even more nervous when he heard a loud grinding noise and the table moved into an upright position. Once the table was in position, Bakura picked up one of his favorite toys and showed it to the boy strapped on the table. He enjoyed seeing the fear in his captive's eye's as they imagined the worse that could happen, then he made it his point to go beyond that and show them the real meaning of pain and suffering.

Bakura had it down to an art, the art of turning people into mindless slaves. He enjoyed breaking them, enjoyed their screams of pain, the begging for him to stop. It was all music to his ears and he loved every minute of it.

Bakura was quite disappointed when his first few strikes of the whip yielded no noise from his captive, so he struck harder and harder until finally hours later a cry of pain escaped the blonde's cracked lips. He continued whipping Joey until the boy was unconscious. After a few more hits for good measure, he unstrapped the teen and dragged him over to the chains he had hung from the ceiling. He lifted the blond up and clasped the cuffs on his wrists. Bakura looked over his handy work with satisfaction before he turned around and left. He went to his chambers to prepare for the Pharaoh's arrival.

'You better come quickly, My Pharaoh,' Bakura thought as he went over his plans, looking for any flaws that would work to the Pharaoh's advantage, 'I don't think your little toy is going to last much longer and I can't wait to see your face when you are finally reunited.'

()()()()()

Yami and Seto had servants running around the palace getting everything together that would be needed for the journey. The scouts had returned. Bakura had been spotted in the area and it didn't take Yami long to figure out what happened to Yugi and Joey. Yami was gathering the guards while Ryo was packing food and supplied that they would need.

"Can I come with my Pharaoh?" Ryou asked hopefully, "I know it's not a long journey but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Yami thought about what Ryou had said. It was true that it wasn't a long journey, it usually only takes about a day and a half depending on how fast you traveled but that was only if you didn't run into any problems. He was also quite sure that Ryou wanted to go along so he wouldn't be left alone since Malik was already going.

"All right," Yami agreed, "I know you want to help find your friend. Gather together what you will need and meet us in the Throne room when you are ready."

"Thank you your Highness." Ryou bowed respectfully before racing off toward the kitchens getting the supplies and making sure he didn't forget anything.

'If that's right, then depending on how fast Bakura traveled, he should already be there now,' Yami thought knowing that Bakura would've wanted to get there as soon as possible, 'hopefully we can get there just as fast and save Yugi and Joey from the worst of the pain.'

It was almost sunset by the time everyone was ready to go, which meant that they couldn't leave until morning. Yami was a little upset that they had to wait, but he understood that they had to make sure they had everything before starting on such a dangerous journey.

"We will be leaving by Ra.'s first light," Yami said to the assembled group. "Make sure you have everything you need and meet here before Ra. rises."

The group nodded and left the supplies in the Throne Room before retiring to their chambers for the night. Only Yami, Seto, Marik and Malik remained to discuss the rescue plan.

"There's only one way in and out of that tomb and Bakura is going to be expecting a rescue attempt. We have to be very careful." Marik said what everyone was thinking.

"Actually your wrong," Yami replied, contradicting Marik, "There is another way in and very few people know about it."

Yami left the Throne Room without saying another word. The group didn't say anything as the Pharaoh walked out of the room and disappeared down the hall. They all looked at each other confused but no one followed him.

Yami headed toward the library and immediately went to a rack in the corner that held the ancient scrolls. He carefully picked through them until he found the ones that contained the plans for Bakura's most recent hideout, the Pharaoh could only hope that the Bakuara was still there.

Yami then headed back to the Throne room where his assembled group waited for him.

Yami walked over to the table and unrolled the map, laying objects on the corners to keep it flat as the group leaned over to see what the Pharaoh was doing.

"What are you doing My Pharaoh?" Marik asked

"This is a map of Bakura's most recent hideout," Yami explained, "there are secret passageways everywhere and hopefully by studying this map we can find one that leads inside without us being noticed."

"How do you know that's where Bakura is?" Seto asked

"It is a favorite hideout of his," Yami explained as he looked over the old map, "And if he's not there, hopefully he might have left behind some clues on his whereabouts."

"If he frequents the place often, why have your guards not caught him yet?" Marik wondered as he studied the map in front of him.

"Bakura is a slippery creature," Yami growled, "He always manages to escape before my guards arrive."

"You think someone is helping him?" inquired Seto, memorizing the map in front of him.

"Yes," Yami growled angrily, pounding his fist against the table,"I believe we have a spy in our mists, one I intend on dealing with as soon as Joey and Yugi are safe."

()()()()()

It was well into the night when the group finished their plans to get back their loved ones. Yami glanced outside and saw it was only a few hours before morning.

"We should take a small break," announced Yami, "we should try and get some rest for the long journey."

As the group went to their chambers for the night, Yami lay awake. He couldn't stop thinking about the terrible things that could be happening to Yugi and Joey at this exact moment. Yami sighed and looked over to the small bed he had placed in his chambers for Yugi. A smile came to Yami's face as he remembered the night they confessed their love for each other. How Yugi's eyes lit up when he realized that Yami returned his feelings and the first kiss that they shared.

'Mother was right,' Yami thought as he tried to get comfortable but he knew that he would be unable to sleep, not knowing what kinds of torture Yugi and Joey were experiencing, 'I never believed in love at first sight until I laid eyes on Yugi. I didn't think it was possible to love someone the moment you saw them. But I knew, right when I saw that innocent face and those big expressive amethyst eyes. Hang in their Yugi and Joey, by Ra. Bakura, will pay dearly for the pain he's caused you.'

Yami shifted positions once more before exhaustion overtook him and he fell into a fitful sleep, nightmares of torture kept him tossing and turning all night. He could hear their screams, and their calls for help and Yami was powerless to do anything. He could only watch as his and Seto's loves were beaten, raped and any other sick thing that came into Bakura's mind. Yami was never more grateful for morning then he was today. He barely slept, for every time he closed his eyes, he saw Yugi.

Yami was standing on the balcony, Ra. had yet to rise but he was not surprised when Seto arrived. He took one look at Yami and couldn't help but comment.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" Seto asked worried as he approached his friend. Seto could see the bags under Yami's eyes. He looked about ready to fall over at any moment.

Yami glanced at Seto before answering, "I probably got as much sleep as you did."

Seto had to nod at that statement. He did feel as bad as Yami looked. He put his hand on Yami's shoulder, "Come on Yami, we should get ready so we can leave as soon as possible."

It was a few hours later and the sun was just beginning to rise. Yami paced impatiently while Seto double checked the supplies to make sure they had everything. Seto could tell without even looking at him how tense the Pharaoh was. He knew better than to say anything though, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of the Pharaoh's temper. It was only a few moments longer before everyone was ready to go.

No one spoke as they traveled across the hot desert, each person thinking of what they were going to do to the person who dared kidnap their loved ones.

'I only pray that Bakura has not discovered the hidden passageways,' Yami thought as the caravan stopped for lunch, 'it might be the only way to save Yugi and Joey.'

It was well past midday and Yami hoped they were making good time. He knew they couldn't travel any faster then they were, but with how worried he was, it felt like they were moving at a snails pace.

()()()()()

Yami came out of the cave and was overjoyed to see the sun again. The caravan had run into trouble five days ago. A terrible sand storm came up suddenly and the group was forced to wait out the storm inside a cave. Yami has never been so frustrated in his entire life.

'That was five days wasted,' Yami thought bitterly, 'Five more day's Joey and Yugi had to stay trapped with that mad man.'

"Get your things together!" Yami yelled to the awaking camp, "We're leaving as soon as everyone is ready!"

()()()()()

Joey had no comprehension of how much time has gone by since he was taken by Bakura and brought to this hell-hole. It felt like he's been here for months, and Joey was starting to lose a piece of himself with each passing day. Each day, he felt himself breaking and it scared him.

'I have to stay strong,' Joey thought though he was not as strong as he was before, he was afraid that this might be the first time that he failed to keep a promise to his little brother.

He had no idea where he was or how Yugi was doing. Joey hasn't seen him and any questions he asked about Yugi, were usually met with laughter and more beatings.

Joey awoke moments ago, and was not surprised to see himself hanging by his wrists from the ceiling. He was getting used to standing on his toes to try and bring some relief to his poor wrists, if even for a few moments.

Joey was used to waking up in pain and he was starting to have a hard time remembering the last time he _wasn't_in pain. He was starting to forget and that scared him more than anything. He didn't want to forget what it felt like to be outside, to have the warm sun on your face as you lazily lay in the garden, watching the clouds float by. The blond didn't want to forget about his love, Seto or his brothers; Malik, Ryou and Yugi. He didn't want to forget about his life at the castle, he may have still been a slave, but that was the best thing to ever happen to him. He was loved and cared for there.

Joey didn't bother raising his head when he heard the door opening. He already knew who it was. He couldn't stand to see that smug smile on the thief's face whenever he came in the room with a new toy he couldn't wait to use.

"Where's Yugi?" Joey weakly demanded. He hasn't had any rest or anything to eat or drink, in he didn't even know how long, and his throat was raw and scratchy.

"I wouldn't worry about him right now," Bakura replied in that same smug voice, "You'll be seeing him soon."

Joey didn't know how to take that statement. Did he mean they will both be dead soon and meet in the afterlife, or did he mean that they will be going back to their cell and could actually be near each other?

'Please hurry Seto,' Joey pleaded, closing his eyes, 'I don't know how much longer I can last.'

With that last thought, Joey allowed the darkness to claim him. He smiled as visions of his loved ones danced through his mind.


	7. A brothers pain

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Seven

A brother's pain

Bakura stormed down the hallways in a foul mood, the blonde he kidnaped still was not broken. He was very close, but still managed to hang on to a small bit of himself. His extremely stubborn personality refused to give up and he still fought to get away as Bakura laughed at his futile attempts.

'I have other ways of breaking slaves,' Bakura thought as he changed directions and headed toward the cells in the lowest part of the dungeons, where Yugi currently was.

He did everything from whippings and beatings to using electroshock therapy on the younger of the two, and after five long days and nights he finally broke the boy's spirit and erased all the boy's memories. Now the small boy followed him and his orders to the letter.

'if I can't break the older boy with torture, then I'll show him how I broke and molded the smaller boy to my will.'

Bakura smiled as he entered the dank and dark cell. The small boy was sitting in the corner hugging his knees to his chest and slightly rocking back and forth. The youth stopped immediately when he noticed another presence in his tiny room.

"Slave, come here at once!" Bakura ordered and was pleased when the small boy moved immediately to kneel at his feet, "follow me."

"Yes Master," Yugi replied softly as he quicky got to his feet and followed his Master out of his cell. Bakura led the small boy through the maze of hallway until he entered a chamber next to the throne room.

'If I can't break the stubborn slave, lets see how long blondie lasts when it's his own friend that's beating him.' Bakura thought smugly as he entered the dim chambers. The blond was still hanging from the wall and didn't bother to raise his head when Bakura entered with Yugi following obediently behind him.

'I have to stay strong,' Joey chanted in his mind, 'I have to stay strong to save Yugi and myself.'

Joey didn't bother raising his head when he heard the chamber doors opening, he already knew who it was but his head suddenly shot up when he heard two sets of footsteps instead of just Bakura. He was shocked to see Yugi standing behind Bakura with his head down and his bangs covering his eyes.

"Yugi!" Joey yelled, once again struggling against the chains, "What have you done to him?"

Bakura chose not to answer the blonde, instead he looked at Yugi, "Now slave, go over to that wall and select the one with the brass handle."

Yugi nodded his head and went over to the whips that were hanging on the wall, then he looked over at his master as he raised his hand toward the whip looking for approval. The small boy wanted to make sure he only grabbed the correct item so as not to be punished again. He really couldn't remember what he was punished for, or anything that happened before he woke up in his cold cell but he did remember his latest punishment and he would do anything in his power never to have that repeated again. So he gladly followed his masters every order and was quite pleased with himself since he hasn't been punished since he's woken up.

'Must obey Master.' Yugi chanted in his mind as he glanced over at his master.

"Yes," Bakura stated smiling at his obedient slave, "Now grab it and come here."

Joey watched in horror as Yugi took the whip off the wall and walked immediately walked back over to Bakura.

"Yugi, No!" Joey shouted, struggling more fiercely against his restraints, "what has that bastard done to you?"

It was then that Joey noticed the blank look in Yugi's eyes and that his movements were almost robotic.

'Yugi's been brainwashed,' Joey thought horrified as he saw Bakura telling Yugi something and the small boy nodding his head. Joey quickly came out of his thoughts as he saw Yugi approaching him, whip in hand.

"Yugi, don't listen to him!" Shouted Joey frantically, "I'm your friend, you don't want to do this."

'Why does that voice sound so familiar?' Yugi thought as he paused in his approach. He turned slightly and looked at his master, but Joey could still see the confusion in Yugi's eyes.

Bakura sneered at the blonds attempts to make is slave remember, "Do as I say _slave _or I assure you the punishment will be quite severe."

Yugi shivered at the mention of another punishment and quickly shook himself from the thoughts that were distracting him.

'Not again,' Yugi thought fearfully, 'I must obey my Master.

Joey thought he might actually be getting through to his little brother, but was disappointed when he saw Yugi shudder and approach him once again with the whip in his hand.

"If you will not bow down to me!" Bakura laughed evilly, "Then lets see how long it takes to break you when your own friend is doing the beating."

"What!" shouted Joey struggling to get himself free

Rather than explaining, Bakura just nodded to Yugi, "Do it now, slave!"

Yugi nodded his head and slowly approached the male chained to the wall. He didn't understand why he felt so upset seeing a complete stranger in such pain, but it made him want to go over and free the other teen.

'No,' Yugi thought forcefully pulling his arm back ready to strike, just waiting for his Masters order, 'Master feeds me, Master takes care of me. I must obey my Master.'

Joey saw the confusion that briefly passed across Yugi's face and he knew his little brother was still in there somewhere, 'but how do I reach him?'

Bakura waiting for the blond to realize the situation he was in before ordering Yugi to start, "Now, Slave."

Joey cried out in pain as he was whipped continuously but he never stopped trying to reach out to Yugi.

"Yugi, you have to remember!" Joey shouted in between his screams, "I'm your brother and I care about you. Please Yugi remember. What about Malik and Ryou? What about Yami?"

When the blond in front of him mentioned Yami, Yugi dropped the whip, crying out as memories started flooding his mind.

'What's going on?' thought Yugi as images flashed before him but before he could focus on the image, it was suddenly a different picture which left the small boy very confused. He fell to his knees and held his head and he started to cry.

"That was not smart blondie." Bakura replied angrily grabbing Yugi roughly by the hair and pulling him back onto his feet, "Now you get to watch as I punish him for not obeying."

"Punish!" Joey yelled as he watched Bakura drag the still crying Yugi to the other wall and chain him up so his feet barely touched the ground, "No, I'm the one who won't obey your sorry ass punish me!"

"Sorry, nice try" Bakura laughed as he finished chaining Yugi to the wall, "You made your choice now you get to watch me beat the shrimp."

Joey cried out when Bakura grabbed a whip with bits of metal sown into the leather strips and walked over toward Yugi. Yugi whimpered as he saw his Master approaching.

"Please Master," Yugi whimpered, "I'll never disobey again Master."

"Sorry slave, but I need to make sure you remember this lesson." Bakura sneered as he raised his arm back readying the whip, "Just remember its no one's fault but your own, You know better than to listen to anyone other than me."

"Sorry Master!" Yugi cried as the whip hit near his eye, "Never again Master. Only listen to you Master."

"Leave him alone you bastard!" Joey screamed, thrashing violently against his restraints.

Bakura continued to ignore the older teen as he concentrated on the young boy in front of him, "Now let's see if you learned your lesson."

Bakura then proceeded to unchain Yugi from the wall, roughly pulling him to his feet as he fell toward the floor.

Joey wanted to cry at the sight of his little brother. When the whip hit Yugi's face it left a huge gash starting at his temple and ending just across his right eye. He had blood running down his face, chest, arms and legs and yet he still struggled to stay standing just to obey his Master and avoid getting punished again.

"Now take this!" Bakura sneered, shoving the whip into the beaten boy's hands, "And do as I told you, punish this disobedient slave."

"Yes Master." Yugi whispered. He slowly limped toward the other boy and readied his arm back waiting for his Master to tell him when to start.

"Good boy," Bakura praised seeing the boy take position to strike his friend, "Now begin."

"Yes, Master," whispered Yugi again as he looked at the blond boy and brought the whip down as hard as he could against the other's stomach.

Yugi tried not to beg his master to let him stop. He cringed every time the other cried out in pain that he knew he was the cause of. Even his chant of 'Must obey Master' was doing little to help him. He couldn't stand to see others in pain and it hurt him even more to know that it was all his fault.

After a few more strikes, Yugi finally broke down and dropped the whip and fell to his knees.

"No more Master," Yugi whispered, his whole body trembling, "Please, no more."

"What did you say!" Bakura asked angrily, "How dare you say that to me!"

"I'm sorry Master." Yugi cried as he bowed as low to the ground as he could get, "Please Master don't punish me, I'm sorry Master."

Joey opened his eyes when he felt the pain stop and was saddened by what he saw. Yugi was cowering on the ground with Bakura towering over his small form yelling at the young boy.

"How dare you tell me NO!" screamed Bakura, "I'll teach you to talk back to me!"

Bakura went over to the small boy and grabbed him roughly by the arm, dragging him to his feet.

He glared over at the other boy, "I'll be back for you later."

Bakura then proceeded to dragged Yugi out the door and down the hall.

"NO YUGI!" Joey yelled as he heard Yugi pleading to not be punished. When he could no longer hear them, Joey looked around for a way to free himself. Seeing Yugi again only strengthened his will to survive and escape this place. Joey would never leave his little brother behind. At first glance there was nothing that could help him escape until his eyes landed on the whip forgotten on the ground.

'How could I use that?' Joey thought as he figured out a way to reach it, 'better question, how am I going to reach it?'

Joey stretched out his foot as far as he could putting tremendous amounts of strain on his already sore wrists until he was finally able to reach one of the leather strands. He quickly wrapped his toes around the strap and carefully slid it toward him.

"Now what?" Joey asked him self as he wondered how he was going to get it in his hands when they were chained above him.

He knew he didn't have much time, Bakura could show up at any minute. After a moments thought, Joey brought his leg up toward his mouth and grabbed the whip with his teeth. Then he grabbed the chains and lifted himself up until he could get the whip with his fingers. It was hard to break off a piece of the metal since the leather was still like new and very tough. Joey pulled himself up again to use his teeth to try and weaken the straps and was finally rewarded when the piece was finally free. Joey cheered in his head as he twisted his wrist around to try and pick the lock, glancing often at the door praying that Bakura doesn't suddenly walk through it.

'Come on,' Joey thought frustrated as the lock wouldn't budge, 'Come on! I know this works, I've seen Malik to it a million times.'

Bakura didn't show up for what felt like hours to Joey and it made him feel both happy and worried. Happy since it gave him more time to work on the locks, Worried because its also been that long since he'd seen Yugi.

'Just hang on Yugi,' pleaded Joey, 'I'm coming to get you very soon, as soon as I get myself free.'

Joey had never felt more relieved in his life as he did when his wrists were finally free and he fell to the ground. Joey groaned in pain as he landed roughly on the cement floor but was quickly back on his feet as he knew he didn't have time to rest. He quietly crept toward the door, listening for any sounds from the other side. Hearing nothing, Joey reached his arm through the bars and worked on getting his cell door open. Taking much quicker than his own locks, Joey carefully opened the door and glanced down the hallway to make sure it was clear.

He silently walked down the hall trying to hear anything that might tell him where Yugi was and was very disappointed when he heard nothing.

'Yugi where are you,' Joey thought getting very frustrated, 'give me some sign on which way to go little buddy.'

As if the God's heard him, Joey suddenly heard a sound coming from the other direction. Quickly changing directions, The blond ran down the hall until he arrived at where the horrible noise was coming from. He quickly darted in the next chambers when the door suddenly flew open and an angry Bakura stormed out. Joey heard Bakura grumbling under his breath and he prayed that Bakura didn't hear him as he stormed down the hall. The moment the coast was clear, Joey immediately peaked into the room to make sure it was empty.

Joey definitely wasn't prepared for the sight that was in front of him. Yugi was laying on a steel table with his arms and legs secured tightly to the corners. He had fresh wounds on his arms and legs that bled profusely. Yugi also had a metal band around his head delivering small jolts of electricity into his body.

"Oh, Yugi," Joey whispered, "Is this how he brainwashed you?"

Joey slowly approached his brother, his eyes never leaving the shaking boy. He gently removed the bands on his arms and legs, then carefully took off the metal band getting a good jolt the second he touched it.

Yugi moaned slightly as he felt the band being removed from his head. He stirred awake and slowly opened his eyes trying to remember what happened. He glanced at the figure standing by the bed.

"Thank you Master," whispered Yugi closing his eyes, "Thank you for teaching me this lesson, I will not forget."

"Oh, Yugi," Joey said soft as he carefully removed the restraints on Yugi's arm and legs then gently placed him on his lap, "You did not deserve that lesson."

Yugi slowly reopened his eyes and looked up confused, "I don't understand?" Yugi whispered, "Master say I didn't listen. Master taught me a lesson, I be good slave now. I remember lesson this time."

'Damn you Bakura,' Joey thought angrily, 'I'll make you pay for what you did to my little brother.'

It reminded Joey of when he first met Yugi, he was this exact same way. Yugi would make sure he followed Master's orders to the letter just to avoid getting punished and he was very afraid to talk to anyone for the same reason.

"No, I'm not your Master," Joey replied as he rubbed Yugi's back soothingly, "I'm your big brother."

Joey could tell he confused the younger boy so he didn't say anything as Yugi once again went unconscious.

'This is definitely going to take time,' Joey thought, 'but I promise we'll help you get through this every step of the way.'

After peaking around the corner to make sure it was clear, Joey carried Yugi back the way he came hoping to find a way out of this underground maze. Joey was quite surprised he managed to find a staircase without running into one single person.

'This is too easy,' thought Joey as a sudden dread quickly filled him, 'what if this is a trap? Well I'm not going back now, the only way to go is forward.'

With that thought in mind, Joey quietly walked up the stairs keeping his senses on high alert. Joey continued to feel even more nervous the closer he got to the door. He was preparing himself for Bakura to jump out from behind a corner and recapture the both of them again.

Joey gave a sigh of relief when he finally reached the door. He pulled it open and ran down the stairs. He noticed a stable to his right and knew he would never be able to out run Bakura without a horse, especially carrying Yugi in his arms. Joey was very disappointed, however, when he saw the stables empty.

'That's why Bakura didn't notice our escape,' Joey thought as he picked a direction and started running, 'unfortunately this make our escape harder, especially if we run into Bakura in the desert.'

()()()()()

After countless hours of running, Joey finally collapsed to the ground making sure to land on his back so as not to crush the small, unmoving form in his arms. Joey panted as he looked around, trying to protect his eyes from the blaring sun. He sighed wearily when all he saw was nothing but sand in every direction.

'How am I going to find my way back to the palace?' Joey thought as he sat down to take a break. A small moan immediately brought Joey's attention to the younger boy laying at his side.

"Yugi?" Joey whispered placing his brother gently in his lap, "Wake up, little brother."

Yugi stirred then slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times in the bright sunlight before finally settling his eyes on the person holding him.

"Wh-where are we M-master?" Yugi asked softly trying to figure out where he was. Just as he was about to cuddle further into the cozy lap, Yugi realized he wasn't with his Master but with the strange boy his Master had him beat. Yugi tried to stand up but he was too weak and ended up falling back to the ground.

"Y-you're not my Master." Yugi said, bringing his knees to his chest and hugging them tightly, "Wh-where is my Master?"

"You don't understand, Yugi," Joey tried to explain to the frightened boy, "He wasn't your Master, he stole you from Yami. Your real Master."

"N-no!" cried Yugi hugging his knees closer to his chest with tears running down his face, "Y-you're just t-trying to confuse me. Master feeds me, Master takes care of me."

"No, Yugi," Joey said softly trying to comfort the small boy, "He didn't take care of you, he hurt you and he didn't care."

"No," Yugi whimpered curling into himself, "Your lying. Master said you would, Where are we? Where is my Master."

"I'm not lying," replied Joey softly, knowing the boy was tortured physically and mentally; "I am your big brother. Me and your other brothers care about you. We would never do anything to hurt you. Now please come with me to the palace, we'll be safe there."

'I have never been more confused in my life,' Yugi thought as he started rocking. 'Why is he lying to me? Is he trying to trick me? He says he's my brother, but Master always told me to trust no one.'

'Will he ever trust us again?' Joey thought as he watched the internal struggle Yugi was going through.

"Please Yugi," Joey pleaded, "we can't stay out here like this, it's too dangerous."

"No," Yugi whispered, "must wait here for Master to return or he will be even more angry."

"Yugi, you can't stay out here. Its very dangerous." Joey said seriously. Almost ready to just pick him up and start running again, but knew that would only make the situation worse.

Yugi lifted his eyes while his head remained down. He was so lost and confused. He didn't know what to think. This stranger just appeared in his life, telling him that they were brothers and they have to run away from his Master. That his Master was a bad guy and not to be trusted. He could only remember having bad Masters. Something from his past reminded him of that and made sure he never forgot it again. But at the same time, he had also felt like he knew this stranger before him, almost like something out of a dream that he had.

Joey was saddened when he saw the lost and confused look in his brothers eyes. It was like he remembered him, and yet he didn't. Joey wanted to just wrap his arms around the small boy and give him the comfort he could see Yugi wanting, but knew that Yugi would not accept his comfort right now. The poor boy didn't even remember him or this other brothers.

'Don't you worry Yugi, your brothers will not allow him to get away with how he treated you. We will make him pay.' Joey vowed. He knew he didn't have much time. They were there too long already and it was only going to get hotter. He had to get both of them somewhere safe, but he didn't know how to convince Yugi to go with him without forcing the smaller boy. That was the last thing he wanted to do, but it didn't look like Yugi was going to give him any other choice.

"Come on Yugi, we have to go now." Joey said, trying to be firm but not yell him.

"No," Yugi whispered again. He was too scared to move from his spot, afraid that Master would find out he was missing and come after him. He shuddered to think of the punishment he would receive. Yugi hoped that, by staying where he was, his Master might lighten the sentence since he didn't go any further since he has woken up, "must wait for Master to return and find me."

()()()()()

"We are almost there Yami." Seto said encouragingly, grasping his friends shoulder tightly.

"That's a relief," Yami replied as he looked over his tired weary soldiers, "I was starting to think we'd never get there."

"Don't lose hope my friend. We will get to him soon and make that good for nothing Tomb Robber pay dearly for this." Seto stated firmly.

"But will we arrive in time?" Yami asked softly, not really wanting Seto to answer.

Yami felt his heart breaking at the thought of not being there in time to help the boys, to help their lovers and he knew that Seto felt it too as he tapped his horse to go at a faster gait.

()()()()()

Joey berated himself with every step as he carried his once again unconscious little brother. Yugi had given him no other choice, the smaller boy absolutely refused to move from his spot and wait for his Master.

'This definitely was not the best way to regain his trust,'thought Joey as he staggered under the blazing sun, completely lost in the desert with no food or water, 'I really hope I'm going in the right direction, otherwise I don't know what will happen.'

Joey shook his head to get those negative thought out of his head, he had to keep his mind focused. Both of their lives were at stake, and he would stop at nothing until both of them were safe and back in their lovers arms.

Joey came out of his thoughts when he thought he heard something. He tilted his head trying to pinpoint the direction so he could investigate. He heard it again and realized it was coming from the other said of the large sand dune they were stopped at to take a break. Laying Yugi on the ground, Joey carefully climbed the sand dune.

At first he thought he was seeing a mirage, but as they came closer and he could hear them better, he realized that it was his biggest hope and worse nightmare together. The Pharaoh and Seto were coming from the west, while Bakura was coming from the east. Joey couldn't believe their luck that Bakura hadn't ridden in the other direction, since that would've put him coming in from behind them and easily recaptured them.

Joey wanted to call out to them but he knew that Bakura would hear them as well, so he just stayed silent and watched as his lover and enemy approached.

"Tomb Robber!" Yami yelled when he saw who was approaching, "What have you done with them?"

"Who do you mean, Pharaoh?" responded Bakura to taunt the younger man

"You know who we have come for!" yelled Yami, "Now where are they?"

As Joey watched the confrontation, he didn't realize that Yugi had woken up and was also watching.

Yugi opened his eyes and realized that he was alone, the blond boy was no where in sight. Yugi sighed relieved as he painfully sat up. He stopped for a moment when he heard raised voices, then quickly got up when he realized one of the voices was his master. Yugi glanced around for the other boy and was happy to see he wasn't anywhere near.

'Now to escape and find my Master,' Yugi thought. He slowly got to his feet and started walking. He was relieved when he heard his Masters voice and walked as quickly as he could to reach his Master. Ignoring the fighting going on around him.

Bakura was about to launch another attack when he noticed a figure coming up on his right side. Taking his eyes off the enemy, he saw his slaving staggering toward him. At first he was filled with rage, until and evil thought suddenly came to his mind

"Come here Slave," Bakura ordered

"Yes Master." The small boy replied trying to walk faster. He sighed with relief when he finally reached his Masters side

"I'm sorry Master," whispered Yugi bowing before his Master, "I was kidnapped and then had to sneak away to get back to you."

"I will punish you later," Bakura promised, "for now come here."

Bakura reached down and picked up his small slave, placing him in front of him on the horse. He knew the Pharaoh wouldn't risk firing and hurting his young lover, which gave Bakura the advantage.

As predicted, Yami stopped mid-attack at the sight of his little lover in the arms of his enemy. He was filled with anger when he saw Yugi snuggling into the tomb robbers embrace, and by the growl at his side, he knew Seto felt the same.

"Release him!" Yami demanded

"Now why would I do that?" Bakura asked innocently. "Now, drop your weapons or the young one dies."

The soldiers all looked to their Pharaoh for his command. They knew how he felt about the boy, but they also knew that he could do nothing that could threaten the wellbeing of their kingdom. He was in a no win situation and Bakura knew it also.

'What am I going to do?' Yami thought as he watched the situation get more serious by the moment. He wanted nothing more than to save his young lover, but he could not put his kingdom at risk either.

"I cannot do that," Yami stated authoritatively

Joey, who had realized Yugi had wondered off, couldn't help but cry out when he saw where his little brother was.

"YUGI NO!" Joey yelled as he ran toward the danger, intent on saving his brother

"Joey!" yelled Seto, riding fast to catch up to Joey, placing him on his horse, "There's nothing we can do, please just stay here."

Joey nodded and buried his head in Seto's shirt crying.

Yugi was getting scared at all the anger he sensed in the air. He turned around as much as he could on the horse and wrapped his arms around his Master waist.

"Master," Yugi whispered. He was very scared and wanted the comfort only his Master could provide, "can we go back now?"

Bakura glanced down briefly when he felt small arms around his waist. He quickly looked at the Pharaoh.

"Pharaoh follow me if you want the boy to live." commanded Bakura, "Alone."

"Yami you know you can't trust him," Seto said in a low voice, "I refuse to let you go alone anywhere with this mad man. You know I am right. You're the Pharaoh. You have a kingdom to be concerned about."

"I know Seto," Yami replied with sadness in his voice, "I cannot put my own happiness before the well being of my Kingdom."

"No deal Bakura!," yelled Yami, "This ends NOW!"

With that battle cry, Yami and his entire force of solders charged forward. Set on killing their enemy and finally bringing peace to their kingdom.

Bakura was not surprised that the Pharaoh refused to meet him alone, the Pharaoh would not be that stupid as to fall for such an obvious trap. But what he didn't expect was the Pharaoh and his entire army charging straight for him while he still held his young lover.

"I guess your not as useful as I originally thought." Bakura said to the little slave in his arms who just looked at him. Bakura could see the fear and confusion clear in his amethyst eyes. He called one of his solders and had them take the boy back to his palace.

"Here take the small one and lock him up," Bakura ordered, "I'll deal with him after I'm done with the _Pharaoh."_

"Yes Sir!" The solder replied, taking the struggling boy away from his Master and he was able to slip away unnoticed by the Pharaoh and his guards with all the confusion going on around them.

"ATTACK!" Yami called as he urged his horse to go faster, "Take no Prisoners!"


	8. A plan revealed

From Shadow to Light

Chapter Eight

A plan revealed

The battle raged on for one and a half days until only Yami, Seto, Bakura and a few of their soldiers remained.

'As much as it pains me to say this but I have to put my Kingdom before my love.' Yami thought sadly as he glanced worriedly at his battle weary soldiers, he was sure they were not going to last much longer, while Bakura's army still had lots of fight left in them.

"Retreat!" Yami yelled to his soldiers. He glared once more at Bakura, "THIS IS NOT OVER TOMB RAIDER!"

Although Seto was quite surprised by the order, he knew that his friend had made the right decision. They were at too much of a disadvantage and it would be suicide to continue with the battle when there was no way they were going to win. So as they rode away, leaving little Yugi behind, Seto did everything he could to reassure his friend it was the only thing he could do.

"You made the right decision Yami." replied Seto trying to comfort his friend.

"Then why does it hurt so much?" Yami practically whispered. Seto could see the pain clearly in his eyes.

"We'll get him back." Seto stated firmly

"But will he be the same?" Yami sighed. He kicked his horse so he was going at a slightly faster pace than his friend. As much as he cared for Seto, the other male could never understand what he was feeling. To finally have found his soul mate only to lose him again to a psychotic maniac. Who knows how long it would take them to regroup then track down the Tomb Raider again, and he doesn't even know how Yugi was with the time that he's already spent with the lunatic.

'Joey knows' his mind supplied. Yami glanced over his shoulder and saw the blond for the first time since the battle started. The poor boy looked like he was run over by a stamped of horses. The blond was covered in dirt and blood, some of which was still running from various wounds. His body was slumped forward and Yami couldn't tell if he was unconscious, or just asleep against Seto's back.

Malik, on the other hand, was looking in the direction that they had come from with anger on his face.

Yami slowed his horse down slightly until he was once again along side his friend, "How is he doing?" Yami asked nodding toward the sleeping boy.

"I don't know," Seto admitted sadly, "He wouldn't let me check his wounds, he just kept crying out for Yugi. He finally fell asleep just now."

"Yugi." Joey whimpered crying out in his sleep, "we can't leave without Yugi."

Yami felt such pain in his heart at those words. While his mind knew he did the right thing, his heart didn't agree. It only felt the immense pain from having to leave Yugi behind.

It was a few hours later when they finally stopped for the night. Almost everyone just collapsed to the ground and slept where ever they landed.

Seto slid off his horse slowly so as not to wake the boy sleeping in his arms. He laid his jacket on the ground and gently placed the boy on it, covering him with his blanket. Glancing over, he saw that Yami had been watching him with a sad look in his eye. He got off the ground and walked toward his friend.

"We'll get him back Yami," Seto replied firmly. Placing his arm around his shivering friend, "I promise we'll get him back and make Bakura pay."

Yami looked at his friend and saw the determination in his ice blue eyes and he knew his friend spoke the truth.

"I have no doubt that we're going to get him back." Yami suddenly replied, confusing Seto

"Then why are you so worried?" Seto asked confused

"What scares me, is the condition he might be in _when _we get him back." confessed Yami softly, not meeting his friends gaze, "I mean, you remember how he was after we got him back from that lunatic brother and he was only there for a short time. Bakura thinks his plans through very carefully, always checking for errors. I don't know if Joey was originally included in his plans, but he was definitely after Yugi. I just don't know what he's after this time."

"It could almost be anything." Seto replied exasperated

"That's why I'm so frustrated." exclaimed Yami, "It could be the Palace he's after, the whole Kingdom, or just more power as usual. He's too unpredictable."

Seto didn't have an answer for his friend, and he knew Yami really wasn't expecting one, he just needed to release some of his frustration and Seto was always happy to listen to him vent.

The rest of the night was spent in silence as Yami thought about what was happening to Yugi while Seto was comforting his love, Joey was crying in his sleep.

()()()()()

"Hurry up you idiots!" Bakura yelled to his men as he headed toward the dungeons, "We're leaving as soon as everything is packed."

Upon reaching the correct cell, Bakura couldn't help but smirk at the figure inside. The young boy was huddled in the corner. He had his arms wrapped around his legs, his head resting on his knees. The slave trembled, both in fear and from being cold due to the damp cell.

Yugi jumped when he heard his cell door opening. He didn't dare look up, knowing exactly who was entering his small room. Yugi's shivering only increased with each step his Master took, bring him closer and closer to delivering his latest punishment for Yugi having run away.

"Time to go runt." Bakura sneered as he grabbed the young boy roughly by his arm, dragging the boy to his feet and out of the dark cell.

Yugi cried out as he was thrown to the ground after being practically drug through the entire castle, his master only stopping once they reached outdoors. He stayed there, not moving a single muscle as other slaves and soldiers rushed about. Some where packing up the horses, others had several fires going, burning very sensitive documents Bakura wanted no one else to read.

'I wonder if this has anything to do with that strange man that looked like me?' Yugi thought as he watched his Master shouting out orders, 'Or maybe the blond that made me escape with him, claming to be my brother.'

Once everything was loaded, and the fires were extinguished, Bakura picked Yugi up and placed the young boy on his horse.

Yugi immediately came out of his thoughts when his Master sat behind him, arm wrapped firmly around his waist. He shivered as the arm tightened around him, terrified of what his Master was going to do to him.

"Move out!" commanded Bakura. He smirked when he felt his young slave tremble in his arms.

'Oh, how I would love to see Yami's face right now,' Bakura smiled as a picture formed in his mind, 'Just wait Yami,' Bakura sneered as he lead his troops deep into the desert to one of his many palaces, '

As the sun rose higher in the sky then caravan continued to march on, despite the rising temperatures. Bakura wanted to get as much distance between him and the Pharaoh as possible that he refused to stop for a break.

It wasn't until a few more hours of riding that Bakura noticed his little slave was near fainting due to the heat. The poor boy was leaning against him, his head lolling to the side as the horse trotted on.

"We're stopping for a quick break." Ordered Bakura much to the relief of his soldiers.

"Get up!" Bakura yelled at the small boy, throwing him angrily to the ground.

Yugi woke up immediately when he landed on the hot sand. Glancing around curiously, he quickly got onto his hands and knees when he saw his master glaring at him furiously. He put his arms in front of his body, his forehead resting on the hot sand.

"Yes, My Master?" the small boy whispered

"Take care of the horses," Bakura ordered, "Than hand out the rations to the men."

"Yes, Master." Yugi replied softly quickly scurrying off to do as ordered.

Yugi went over and grabbed the reins for all the horses and led them over to a small patch of shade, tying them to a tree.

For some reason the small boy was unable to get the look on the strange mans face when he was running toward his Master.

'Why did he look so familiar?' Yugi thought as he gave the horses water from the canteen, 'he looked so relieved when he saw me, same with the blond haired teen I was ordered to beat, why can't I remember anything?'

Yugi was near tears. He felt like he should know those people, but for the life of him he just couldn't remember them. Every time he tried, when he was just about to remember, a sharp, blinding pain resonated through his mind forcing him to immediately back away from the memory. He almost cried out a few times the pain was so intense.

'Stop thinking about that Yugi,' he silently scolded himself, 'I must really need to be taught another lesson, I am too easily forgetting my place."

Yugi continued to berate himself as he finished taking care of the horses. He knew if he dawdled any longer his Master would be angry with him.

After giving the horses their food and water, Yugi then headed to his Masters horse to retrieve the rations hidden inside.

Yugi tried to keep is mind on task as he passed out the rations to his Masters troops making sure they all received the same amount, but to his continuing frustration he found his thoughts drifting to the strange man he saw earlier. In his heart he felt he should know the other male, but his mind screamed at him to forget about him, he was with a new master now.

'He wasn't just my master though,' Yugi felt in his heart, 'he was more than that. But what? And why did I let someone get that close to me to begin with?'

Yugi was brought from his thoughts abruptly when he was suddenly grabbed by his shirt and raised up in the air. Glancing up fearfully, Yugi's eyes were meet with furious brown.

"Now that you're finally back to the land of the living you worthless runt," Bakura sneered at the terrified boy, "Did you pass out the rations?"

"Yes Master," whimpered Yugi.

Without a word Bakura dropped the boy on the ground causing the small male to cry out.

"Get everything packed up," Bakura ordered walking away, "We're leaving in five minutes."

"Yes Master." whispered Yugi.

Although he was exhausted, Yugi quickly got off the ground and had the campsite cleaned up and their supplies packed in record time, impressing even himself.

'That should please Master,' Yugi thought smiling as he glanced around to make sure he wasn't forgetting anything.

"Took you long enough runt," Bakura snarled immediately wiping the smile off Yugi's face, "Let's move out!"

'What did I do?'

Yugi lowered his head in sadness. He thought for sure his Master would be pleased with how fast he worked, but apparently it wasn't fast enough to earn him a drink of water. Exhausted and thirsty, Yugi trudged alongside his Masters horse.

'I'll just have to work harder,' Yugi thought with determination, 'That will be sure to please Master.'

"More water Master?" Yugi asked timidly his outstretched arm holding the canteen keeping up with the horses' steady pace.

Although his Master didn't say anything, he did reach over and grab the water taking a long soothing drink of the cool liquid. After he had drank his fill, he secured the canteen to his horse.

Bakura tapped his horses side telling him to increase the pace. He grinned when he saw the small boy struggling to keep up.

By the time they stopped for the night Yugi had no energy left. He had to practically sprint to keep up with his Master's pace. He literally dropped to his knees when his Master finally stopped.

"Did I say you could take a break?" Bakura sneered at the young boy. Smiling to himself when the boy trembled in fear of him.

"No Master," Yugi whispered. His arms shaking with the exertion of holding up his body.

"Then tend to the horses." Bakura ordered.

Yugi struggled to get up and almost fell down again, but with a lot of effort, he was finally able to get back onto his feet.

Yugi, once again, tended to the thirsty and hungry horses before bringing the men their rations. He dropped to the ground, too tired to stay standing any longer. His exhausted body demanded he rest. Just as Yugi's eyes started closing, he was suddenly kicked in his side.

()()()()()

"Yugi!" Joey shouted as he sat up, startling Yami and Seto.

"Joey," Seto wrapped his arms around the shivering blond, "It's ok, you're safe now."

Joey clung to Seto, tears streaming down his face, "But Yugi's not."

"I know," Seto replied softly, trying to comfort his young lover, "But we'll get him back. We won't stop until Yugi is safe with us once more."

Joey looked up at the blue eyed male, hearing the determination in his lover's voice. He glanced over at the Pharaoh, seeing him nod in agreement.

"I have sent a small party back to the palace," Yami informed the blond, "They are bringing back supplies and more men. I will not rest until I have found Yugi, and shown Bakura what happens to those who take what's mine."

"Joey," Seto sighed, not wanting to bring up the painful subject, "How was Yugi."

Yami looked over at the blond, the same question running through his mind. He saw Joey's eyes immediately begin to water and he feared the worst.

"Not good," Joey replied sadly, resting his head on Seto's shoulder, "That creep brainwashed Yugi. He had..."

Joey took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down before continuing, "He had Yugi beat me. Bakura sat there laughing while Yugi whipped me."

"It's over now." Seto assured the blond, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Not for Yugi!" Joey cried out. Frustration and sadness heard clearly in his chocked voice, "He didn't even remember me. Then when he finally did, Bakura punished him."

"Oh, Joey." was all Yami could say, he too felt the tears gathering behind his eyes.

"You have to get that bastard!" Joey growled, "He has to pay for what he did to my brother."

"You have my word," Yami declared firmly, determination flashed in his crimson eyes, "I will not rest until I have Yugi back in my arms."

()()()()()

Yugi's amethyst eyes opened immediately when he felt a sharp kick to his tender stomach, he shut them just as quickly from the intense pain.

"Did I say you could rest?" bellowed Bakura as he towered over the small boy.

"No, Master." whimpered Yugi, curling up in a ball to protect his vulnerable stomach.

"Then get up!" Bakura growled.

Yugi struggled to get back to his feet, his tired body protesting the movement. Once he was finally able to stand up, he was grabbed roughly and dragged across the small campsite.

'What did I do?' Yugi thought as he struggled to keep up with his Master's longer legs. He racked his brain trying to think of what he had done this time, but he came up with nothing.

"You freed the blond and escaped," Bakura reminded the small boy, "I told you you were going to get punished for that."

"But I didn't," Yugi protested, tears in his amethyst eyes, "He released me and took me with him against my will."

"How unfortunate for you," Bakura smiled evilly, "You will still be punished for disobeying me earlier."

Bakura walked over to a tree, tying the boy to the thick trunk. He had found this place on one of his many journeys, and decided to take a short break in the small oasis. It was a pleasant enough spot, complete with its own spring surrounded by many trees.

Yugi closed his eyes, fearful of what his Master was going to do to him this time. He didn't struggle when the snow haired man tied him up, knowing it would not do any good and just get him in even more trouble with the already furious male.

Yugi let his mind wander, his only escape from the horrendous pain his body was going through. He went to his favorite place, a small garden he had created when the pain became too much for him to handle.

Bakura growled when his young slave stopped crying out in pain, hanging limply from the tight rope. He drew the whip back, blood dripping off the leather straps. Bakura waited for a moment, then brought the whip down harshly against the boy's back, not a sound escaped the still boy's lips.

"Cut him down," Bakura ordered as he walked away from the unconscious boy, "Tell me when he wakes up."

"Yes Sir!" the soldier saluted before carrying out his assigned task.

()()()()()

Malik sat by the small fire, watching the Sorcerer try to calm down his brother. He wanted to help, but he too felt just as distraught as the blond. He sighed, getting the attention of the person sitting quietly beside him.

"We'll get him back." Marik encouraged, patting the younger boy on the back.

"I know," Malik closed his eyes, "But how will he be when we finally rescue him?"

Marik sighed dejectedly, not knowing how to answer.

"Marik?" Malik asked suddenly, "What is the story with Pharaoh and Bakura?"

Marik glanced at the other, surprised by the question.

"Bakura is after something that belongs to Yami," Marik answered after glancing at the crimson eyed male, "And it would be very dangerous for everyone if he finds it."

"What?" Malik asked

"The heart of the desert." Marik replied.

"What is that?" asked Malik again, hating the cryptic answers.

"An amulet," Marik said softly, "One that gives the bearer immense power."

"But Pharaoh didn't know if that's what Bakura was after." Malik responded, confused.

"With that kind of power he can rule more than just Yami's lands," Marik informed the younger, "He could rule all of Egypt."

"If that's true, why didn't the former Pharaoh just rule over all of Egypt, not just Upper Egypt?" Malik wondered.

"That power comes at a terrible price." a new voice replied, making Malik jump slightly. He turned immediately, surprised to see the Pharaoh standing directly behind them.

"Pharaoh," Marik bowed, inviting him to join them, "Malik was just curious about.."

"The heart of the desert." Yami finished as he sat down on the ground, "That is what Bakura is after. It was buried long ago inside my father's tomb, but not even I know its location."

"Why not?" Malik asked

"Only one with a pure heart can find it." Yami replied, remembering what he was once told.

"What is the terrible price for such power?" Malik asked intrigued by the story.

"It consumes you," Yami looked the boy directly in his eyes, "Driving you nearly insane."

"Bakura is already insane." Marik mumbled.

"Is that why the former Pharaoh only chose your current lands?" Malik asked, shuddering at the thought of being controlled like that.

"No," Yami shook his head, "In the beginning my father was a kind man, who cared very much for his people and for his son. But then, my mother died and my father changed. The amulet is only as good or bad as the one who wears it and it fed off my father's anger. He grew cold and uncaring. His people were starving, yet too afraid of him to ask for any help."

"I remember that," Malik replied sadly, "I was eight or nine at the time."

"Yes, well I have done no better," Yami stated, "I have ruled exactly as my father had."

"But you've changed," Marik informed his best friend, "You're not like that anymore."

"You have changed Pharaoh," Malik looked the Pharaoh directly in his eyes, "And so has Yugi. You've both learned to trust again. Let down your shields and let someone in."

Yami smiled at the thought of the small boy that came into his life so suddenly, but then he remembered that Yugi was still with that tyrant Bakura and his smile turned quickly to a growl startling both blonds.

"Well get him back." Marik said firmly, knowing what his friend was thinking.

'Only one pure of heart.' that phrase kept repeating itself in Yami's mind.

"I know where Bakura is!" Yami shouted, startling the entire camp as he shot to his feet, "I'm such an idiot for not realizing it sooner!"

"Yami what is it!" Seto ran over to his friend, "What's going on?"

"Bakura is going to my father's tomb," Yami told his friend as he quickly gathered his scattered supplies, "He is going to use Yugi to find the amulet."

"Shit!" Seto swore as he too gathered their belongings.

()()()()()

"Wake up!" a voice shouted

Amethyst eyes shot open when he was suddenly kicked in the side. Yugi sat up as quickly as his injured body would allow, knowing his Master would not give him much time.

"Sorry Master," Yugi whimpered as he bowed to the snow haired man that had a frightening resemblance to his brother Ryou, "It won't happen again Master."

"It had better not!" Bakura yelled as he dragged the small boy by his arm. Yugi struggled to keep up, not wanting to anger his Master anymore than he already was. It wasn't long, however, before he was hauled up on a large horse, his Master directly behind him. Yugi shivered as the vile mans arm wrapped around him. He closed his eyes, unwanted images flooding his mind.

"Don't worry little one," Yugi trembled harder at the mock soothing voice, whimpering when he felt Bakura's other hand on his leg, "I won't kill you yet, you are still useful to me."

'Please no.' Yugi clenched his eyes shut, willing himself to his special place. As he let his mind drift, strange images started to appear but they kept shifting before he could see it clearly.

In one picture he saw himself beating the blond haired boy, in another, he is hugging the other boy in his sleep a look of absolute peace on his face.

'What is going on?' Yugi wondered as more images flooded his mind.

He saw a boy with snow white hair, laughing and playing with him. Then it changed to both boys slaving away under the hot Egyptian sun.

Next came a boy with hair identical to his own, that one being the most confusing to him. He feared this male, but at the same time, felt completely safe in his arms. In one scene, the crimson eyes were cold and cruel, but then he saw those same eyes, this time, shining with love and concern.

'Who is he?' Yugi thought as the images faded away.

~Yugi!~

Yugi's eyes suddenly shot open again.

'What was that?' He looked around, fearful of the strange voice he just heard in his head.

~Yugi, it's me! Yami!~

'Wh-who are you?' Yugi whimpered, terrified out of his mind.

~You don't remember me~

The voice sounded so heartbroken, Yugi wasn't sure how to respond. True, he had absolutely no idea who this person was, but he hated to see others in pain, it was ten times worse if he was the cause.

He was just about to respond when he was suddenly thrown from the tall horse. Yugi cried out when his body hit the unforgiving ground.

()()()()()

~YUGI!~ Yami yelled, terrified when he abruptly lost his connection with the small boy. He opened his eyes, looking directly at Seto.

"What is it?" Seto asked worriedly, "What happened?"

"I was able to talk to Yugi for a moment," Yami closed his eyes once again, "But we were suddenly cut off."

"You talked to Yugi?" Joey asked, worry and concern clear in his expressive eyes, "How was he?"

"He doesn't remember me," stated Yami sadly, "He sounded so scared."

"How did you talk to him?" Joey asked confused, "Can you do it again?"

"Sometimes, I am able to read thoughts," Yami only half confessed, his eyes clearing telling his friends not to contradict him, "I was able to catch Yugi's for a moment but then, he was gone."

"We must hurry," Seto reminded his friend, "If that's were Bakura is heading, we want to make sure we are there before him."

"You're right," Yami nodded his head, placing his hand on his friends shoulder, "Let's pack up and get ready to move as soon as possible. I will send a scout to intercept the troops and supplies to tell them where we're headed."

"We're gonna catch him this time," Seto stated firmly, "He will not get away with taking what belongs to our Pharaoh."

"You heard him!" Marik yelled at his troops, "Get ready to move out!"

~I'm coming Yugi~ Yami thought as he looked at the clear blue sky, the hot sun blazing overhead ~Please hold on, I'm coming.~

AN: What do you think? I know that I have made quite a few changes but I just wasn't happy with the way the story was going.

Are the changes good/bad?

Sorry for the long wait, I am just really struggling with this story.

Please let me know what you think, I always love reading the reviews you guys write.

Only one more chapter to go. I have already started it and will post it as soon as I can.

Thanks again for your reviews/comments. They are very much appreciated


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